Cablevision Systems Corporation said on Tuesday it plans to
make its digital home phone network compatible with any U.S. wireless
network, allowing subscribers to transfer calls between the two.
Patricia
Gottesman, Cablevision's executive vice-president of product management
and marketing, told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference the
company had "aggressive" plans to deliver such a service but gave no
time frame.
Cable companies and telephone companies have talked
about converging wireline and wireless services for years, but no major
operator has yet to launch such a product.
A
source close to the company said its digital phone network, which
delivers calls over the Internet, is compatible with wireless networks,
allowing one phone to be used as both a cellphone and a home phone. Cablevision,
which has 3 million subscribers predominantly in the Long Island, New
York area, says 20 percent of its cable television subscribers also
take its digital phone service.
The company was the only major
cable operator not to join Sprint-Nextel Corp. in forming a joint
venture, first announced in November 2005, that aimed to explore
combining mobile phone services with television, home phone and
Internet services.
Operators including Comcast Corp., Time Warner Inc.'s cable unit and Cox Communications joined the venture.Read full story...
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