The new Wi-Fi login system introduced by Time Warner Cable earlier this week will help customers to determine how much money they’ve saved by using the company’s services, the firm has said.
The online portal allows users to register a selection of wireless-enabled devices so that they automatically connect to hotspots when in range. At present, customers are required to log in to each hub using their unique account details.
TWC’s vice president of Mobile Products, Rob Cerbone, thinks the move will be a positive one for customers. He was quoted by cedmagazine.com as saying: “My WiFi allows our customers to easily connect to any one of TWC’s nearly 35,000 WiFi Hotspots around the country without needing credentials.
“The portal also offers some great new information on how much data each device has used on the TWC WiFi network, and based on that info, how much they potentially saved by using our free WiFi instead of their cellular data plan.”
Once the user has registered their gadgets using the system’s Device Manager feature, they’ll remain authenticated for 12 months. Upon expiry, login details will be needed once again for reactivation, wsj.com reports.
While the changes will make it easier for customers to connect to TWC’s own hubs, they’ll still be required to log in separately to use the public Wi-Fi systems of other providers. It is for this reason that many smartphone users still rely on slower mobile data connections much of the time, although the ongoing development of Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) technology is expected to solve this issue in time.
The news comes as speculation builds over TWC’s future. The company is thought to be the subject of a $42.5 billion takeover bid from Comcast which could see its wireless network expanded significantly.
