Verizon Communications and Cablevision are neighbors in the Northeast, but their relationship is stormier than the weather this week. Cablevision said yesterday that it’s suing Verizon over its advertising claims about its Wi-Fi router speeds.
Verizon sells Wi-Fi routers for home use, and it’s claiming that its customers get faster Wi-Fi speeds than Cablevision customers. Cablevision said that’s just not true.
Speed tests on home Wi-Fi routers are difficult to compare for several reasons. The activity of nearby Wi-Fi routers can impact a home router’s performance, and of course device speed can also impact speed tests.
“Verizon’s claim that it has faster Wi-Fi than Cablevision is false, deceptive and designed to mislead consumers,” said Cablevision in a statement. “Verizon has no public Wi-Fi network. In addition, Verizon’s in-home routers are not faster than Optimum Smart Routers and cost Verizon customers hundreds of dollars while Optimum’s are free. It is not a coincidence that Verizon is making false Wi-Fi claims just as Cablevision is introducing its all-Wi-Fi Freewheel phone, which will allow consumers to avoid Verizon’s data caps and excessive data overage fees.”
This week the cable company launched a free Wi-Fi-only mobile phone service, competing directly with Verizon Wireless. Right now, the Freewheel service only works with one smartphone – the Moto G.
Cablevision says it has 1.1 million Wi-Fi access points in the tri-state area. The success of the Freewheel service will depend on ubiquitous Wi-Fi for its users. People who live, work and commute within range of Wi-Fi hot spots may opt to abandon traditional wireless service in favor of Cablevision’s free voice, data and text offering.
