Cablevision has done a good job of withstanding the Verizon FiOS assault by rolling out really high speed Internet along with other services to its customer base in the tri-state region of the U.S. In order to keep nearly 2.4 million broadband customers of its Optimum Online service happy, Cablevision is going to offer them free Wi-Fi access starting today.

The Bethpage, N.Y.-based cable company says it has completed the initial phase of its Optimum Online Wi-Fi network that could cost as much as $300 million by the time it is complete. The company claims that it is already one of the largest consumer Wi-Fi networks in the business. That said, the network isn’t terribly fast — speed is going to be up to just 1.5 megabits per second. You may be able to use it for VoIP calls, but given my experience with most open Wi-Fi networks, don’t count on good quality.The service is available exclusively for Optimum customers, and Cablevision has no plans to offer it to non-customers, a spokesperson told us. The Wi-Fi network is now accessible throughout the “commercial and high-traffic areas of Nassau County, in areas of Suffolk County, and on the commuter rail platforms and station parking lots across all of Long Island.”

The company had previously lit-up the network in: Bridgeport-Port Jefferson Ferry Line boats; commercial zones in Sag Harbor, Northport and Huntington on Long Island; Westport and New Canaan in Connecticut; Peekskill, Pleasantville and Pelham in Westchester/Hudson Valley; Denville, Ridgewood and Tenafly in New Jersey; and Parkchester in the Bronx. For all the problems with MuniFi networks, Cablevision has shown gumption going down the Wi-Fi route, and hopefully we will get some interesting usage data from it in coming months.

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Cablevision has reached out to us to note that their effort to provide free Wi-Fi to all of their broadband subscribers is moving along. According to the company, they've activated wireless service across a massive swath of Long Island. The project was announced last May, will take roughly two years to complete, and will cost Cablevision about $100 per customer (Cablevision has 3.1 million cable customers, 2.4 million of whom have broadband). The service offers symmetrical 1.5Mbps speeds, according to Cablevision.

The move helps Cablevision differentiate themselves from FiOS across their footprint. You might recall that Verizon once offered free Wi-Fi in Manhattan, but scrapped the project back in 2005 because they feared it cannibalized the sale of their (then) $80 EVDO service. Cablevision COO Tom Rutledge has stated that Wi-Fi and Cablevision's planned DOCSIS 3.0 deployment combined will cost roughly about $315 million.

"This is the first update on our deployment and we're announcing that we've activated service in the commercial and high-traffic areas of Nassau County, parts of Suffolk and on the LIRR commuter rail platforms and station parking lots across Long Island," Cablevision spokesman Jim Maiella tells me. "This is already the largest consumer WiFi deployment in the country, with many more progress reports and updates to come over the next two years."

According to users in Cablevision markets, the company is deploying BelAir 100S Strand Mounted Wireless Multi-service Nodes and Cisco Aironet 1500 Series mesh access points on utility poles. While Cablevision is focusing first on high-traffic areas of Long Island first, Maiella tells me users in Cablevision counties north of the city should also be seeing service before long. The company says they've also launched a new website to map Wi-Fi progress.

Official Optimum WiFi Website