MANVILLE: Cable company launches wireless Internet connections

By Audrey Levine, Staff Writer
   Optimum Online customers are now able to access the Internet in places along Main Street, as Cablevision Systems Corp. announced it has activated Wi-Fi wireless Internet access in several outdoor locations in town.
   The access is provided near the Sacred Heart Cemetery; on South Main Street, in areas between Huff Avenue and West Camplain Road; on West Camplain Road, near South Main Street; and on North Main Street, from the railroad tracks to Dukes Parkway.
   ”We are pleased to announce that Manville is now part of the nation’s largest and most advanced consumer Wi-Fi network – Optimum Wi-Fi,” said Kevin Curran, Cablevision’s senior vice president of wireless product development, in a press release. “With service now activated across our Northern and Central Jersey service areas, free and broadly available Wi-Fi access is already becoming a popular enhancement for our Optimum Online customers, and a significant differentiator over our competitors.”
   There are no specific buildings covered by the Wi-Fi access because it is primarily an outdoor network, the Cablevision representative said. There could still be access inside the buildings, but this service is mainly to benefit those people outside in the high-traffic consumer areas.
   The community zones service is focused mainly on areas in which people shop, dine, commute and meet.
   This service is free for all Optimum Online customers, who can access the Wi-Fi service through a sign-on screen on laptop computers, iPhones, iPod Touch, Blackberry and other portable devices. An Optimum User ID and password must be entered to activate the service.
   Only Optimum Online customers will be able to access the service.
   This service has already been activated in different areas of Northern and Central Jersey, and Manville has been added to the list. It was also recently activated on the commuter rail platforms and station parking lots at train stations in Basking Ridge, Bridgewater and Raritan.
   The project to enable free Wi-Fi access was initially announced last spring, and the company began the work in September. Residents of included towns can begin to connect as soon as the service is activated in their areas.
   Cablevision plans to continue offering Wi-Fi service in commercial and high consumer traffic areas in the tri-state service area. Other areas have already been designated for the service in Somerville, Bound Brook and Raritan, among other Somerset County towns.