Time Warner to Launch Free Citywide Wi-Fi Network in Austin

AUSTIN, TX - Time Warner Cable (TWC) has begun deployment of TWC WiFi, a citywide Wi-Fi Hotspot network for its customers in Austin, Texas. Access to the TWC WiFi network is free to Time Warner Cable customers with Standard Internet or above and to Time Warner Cable Business Class Internet customers.

Austin residents are being heavily courted by technology providers who appear to have entered a local marketshare war that began with Google's announcement that it had chosen Austin as its second Google Fiber city. AT&T quickly jumped in with its own plans for a fiber network for the city setting the scene for TWC to offer free citywide WiFi to its customers this year in an apparent effort to discourage them from switching to a fiber network by focusing on mobility.

“Increasingly, our Austin customers want to take their high-speed Internet with them out of the home and on-the-go,” said Area Vice President Kathy Brabson. “The TWC WiFi network we’re building for Austin will allow our customers to greatly maximize their TWC Internet subscription – at no additional charge.”

In Austin, customers today can access a limited number of hotspots with hundreds more to become available in 2013 as Time Warner Cable builds out the network. TWC WiFi will be introduced at popular locations where residents eat, live and play like Zilker Park, Barton Springs, Lamar, Congress, 5th and 6th Streets.