Freewheel is Cablevision's WiFi calling service for thrifty New Yorkers
In large metropolitan areas that are covered with WiFi, you might start to wonder why you pay for a cellular service at all. It's this germ of an idea that has inspired Cablevision to announce Freewheel: a WiFi-based phone service that offers unlimited talk, text and data with no annual contract. The catch, if you hadn't already guessed, is that you'll only be able to use those minutes and MBs while you're in range of the nearest WiFi hotspot.
Sure, that isn't great if you're out in the boonies, but the tri-state area boasts more than a million Optimum hotspots, which the company is hoping will tempt thrifty users. If you're not a Cablevision customer, then the service will cost you $29.95, but if you already buy your home internet and cable from it, the price drops to just $9.95. When it launches at some point in the near future, Freewheel will only work with a skinned version of the Moto G, priced at $99.95. In the future, however, the Wall Street Journal believes that an app version of the service will work with a wide variety of devices. The paper also claims that Cablevision will try to roll Freewheel out nationally, so be prepared for loads more people to start begging for your WiFi password.
