Mobile options expand for Time Warner Cable customers

Sports fans in the desert who are Time Warner Cable subscribers now have additional ways to enjoy their favorite action, and they won’t be confined to their living room.

Watching your favorite NBA team play on ESPN or catching a live basketball game on the Big Ten Network just got easier away from home thanks to Time Warner Cable’s Internet On The Go package.

 “Everything with Time Warner Cable used to be in your home, and now we are focused on the four anys – we deliver any content, any time, on any device, anywhere,” said Justin Venech, director of communications with Time Warner Cable.

With a new Sierra Wireless device called the IG2 Personal Mobile Hotspot, the Internet On The Go service package enables high speed data customers to connect to the Internet with up to 50mbps wideband speeds at home and 3G, 4G and WiFi access when away from home.

Time Warner Cable added the WatchESPN functionality to its systems last fall, providing customers with access to 24/7 live programming from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, and ESPNU. Now customers can take ESPN with them anywhere they go, staying connected to live sports and shows from ESPN.

Besides the “Internet On The Go” package, Time Warner Cable has expanded its reach around Los Angeles through a $15 million investment to build a WiFi network that is free to all Time Warner Cable high-speed data customers. Non-Time Warner Cable customers can subscribe by the hour or by the day.

Time Warner Cable’s WiFi coverage of Los Angeles is a dense mass of dots reaching more than 40 miles, including areas in Venice Beach, West Hollywood, downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach and other cities in Orange County.

The WiFi hotspots have targeted major intersections, parks and public venues.

“We have extended the product beyond the front door of customers to where they play like sports arenas, the beach, popular areas for nightlife, restaurants,” Venech said.

Time Warner Cable first launched the WiFi hotspots in New York and Manhattan around parks and train stations. They started an aggressive launch in Los Angeles last fall.

“The usage model in Los Angeles is a good test for us,” Venech said. “People spend a lot more time outside in L.A. at the beach, restaurants, they get together outside and want to stay connected.”

 Exciting options could be on the horizon as well. Time Warner Cable and several other cable companies recently entered into an agreement providing for the sale of various products and services. In the near future, the cable companies will have the option of selling Verizon Wireless’ service as part of a bundled package with a customers’ home phone, cable and internet.