Time-Warner Cable Roadrunner customers in San Antonio get hotspot access for free timed to the men's NCAA Final Four tournament this week: Time-Warner is mimicking Verizon's bundled offering in Manhattan where free hotspots are available to Verizon DSL subscribers. The company announced the plan last month, and is live in time for the Final Four. The venue uses gear from Airespace, which explains this particular press release.
Roadrunner users gain free access to the unknown number of hotspots that Time-Warner Cable will deploy, while others can use prepaid cards in 15-, 30-, and 60-minute units, or pay a fee via credit card on a gateway page.
Lots of details are obviously up in the air: how many locations and what charges, just to name, too.
Comcast's closest challenge to this is their partnership with T-Mobile where existing Comcast cable broadband subscribers can buy a single $9.95 T-Mobile HotSpot DayPass, and then receive one free DayPass each month through December 2003. [updated analysis cadged from TechDirt]