Cablevision to shutter Freewheel as Comcast, others prepare to jump into mobile

Cablevision is shutting down its Freewheel service in a move that underscores the difficulties cable companies face as they try to elbow their way into the wireless market. The New York state-based cable operator launched Freewheel in 2015, hoping to lure customers with a Wi-Fi based service focused on data rather than aiming to replace cellular offerings.

The service cost $9.95 a month for Cablevision's Optimum Online customers and $29.95 a month for non-customers. At launch the offering worked only with Motorola's Moto G, which sells at a heavily discounted $100. But Altice, a Dutch telecom conglomerate that has begun to close on its acquisition of Cablevision, recently gave its soon-to-be subsidiary the green light to close down Freewheel, according to a report today in The Wall Street Journal. Unlike Wi-Fi-first MVNOs such as Republic Wireless or Scratch Wireless, Freewheel can't access cellular networks where Wi-Fi service is unavailable. But Cablevision clearly thought it could attract users who may not need constant connectivity on the go.