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San Antonio, Houston Systems Pitch Subs on Wireless Internet
Getting into the Wi-Fi groove, two Time Warner Cable systems in Houston have rolled out Road Runner SpeedZones, wireless access points that allow consumers to tap into Road Runner's high-speed Internet network.
The Houston wireless-fidelity rollout is geared toward business, and sold by Road Runner Business Class service as an amenity to its clients' high-speed operations.
The San Antonio rollout focuses on public places where consumers -- including existing Road Runner subscribers -- would gather, such as the downtown Riverwalk area.
BRAND EXTENSION
Both rollouts share a common goal: to extend the brand name of Time Warner Cable and Road Runner further into a community that is, at times, not so easily divided between locations defined as "work" or "home."
"We want to leverage the existing brand equity on Road Runner to the wireless solution out there," said Miguel Guerra, marketing manager for business broadband services for Time Warner Cable Houston. "Our tagline is: 'Experience Broadband.' "
"Since we are so well-positioned, from a wired broadband prospective, it made sense to extend service to the wireless world, given we have a brand name that people trust," he added.
"It's obvious there are customers that use this in the home and office," said Jeff Henry, vice president of marketing and product development at Time Warner Cable in San Antonio, referring to high-speed Internet access. "And they have an interest in being able to go into a more wide area."
For example, Henry said subscribers might want "to go down to the park and finish up on your e-mail."
It's that blending of the work space and personal space that leaves both Guerra and Henry believing there is a wide audience for cable-delivered Wi-Fi broadband.
"The analysts have painted the market more [narrowly] than it really is," Guerra said. "Usually, it's Wi-Fi access at a hotel or airport. We see it as extension of an amenity," he said, ticking off a list of places Wi-Fi could work: car dealerships, apartment houses, bars, restaurants and coffee shops.
15 IN HOUSTON
Guerra's staff has set up 15 Road Runner SpeedZones in the Houston area. Colubris Networks is the company's access-point provider, which makes a commercial grade antenna that provides a...