NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Time Warner Cable Business Class (TWCBC), a provider of business communications services for small, medium and enterprise-sized companies, will begin offering its innovative TWC WiFi® Hotspot solution at no additional charge to their Business Internet customers, across all TWCBC markets. This solution will enable businesses to offer their customers WiFi access on virtually any WiFi enabled device, such as smart phones, tablets and laptops.
In May, TWCBC commissioned a survey that revealed a gap between the technologies businesses know will improve their customer experience and what they’re actually using today. The biggest gap was with WiFi: 80 percent of survey respondents believe their customers expect free WiFi and also rank it as a top way to attract new customers, but only 43 percent of businesses offer it. As WiFi continues to rise in popularity, there is a big opportunity for small businesses to offer it to help increase customer satisfaction and grow their business.
“Our WiFi Hotspot solution is an excellent service for growing businesses because it has the potential to attract new customers and reward loyal patrons,” said Maureen Link, group vice president, marketing, small business, Time Warner Cable Business Services. “Consumers have come to expect connectivity everywhere, and a WiFi Hotspot gives them a simple, free way to use their tablet or smart phone while waiting for a doctor’s appointment or having lunch, without having to use up their cellular data plan – a big bonus for users on expensive, capped data plans.”
The WiFi Hotspot solution includes a free WiFi access point installed and managed by TWCBC, which eliminates the need for the business owner to purchase and maintain costly equipment. In addition, the WiFi access point comes with its own internet connection to ensure the business’s private internet traffic is kept secure and completely separate, with no interference from their public WiFi internet traffic.
The solution also provides a self-service management portal in which the business owner can configure the service to require a password for free access or set daily time allotments for free access, ranging from 15-60 minutes. Through the portal the business owner can also add their business name, logo and marketing message to the WiFi welcome webpage. Users connecting to the WiFi Hotspot are first presented with this welcome page, which also displays options for connecting. Patrons can either select the free daily access or if they are qualified Time Warner Cable Standard residential and business Internet customers, they receive unlimited, free WiFi access at all times, as do qualified customers of Internet service providers participating in the Cable WiFi® network.
“The ubiquity of handheld devices has created a large demand for WiFi connectivity. With TWCBC’s WiFi Hotspot, businesses now have a simple solution that provides free public WiFi access for their customers, keeping their business Internet network secure, separate and reserved for their employees,” said Jitesh Bhayani, vice president, data and carrier product management. “We understand many small business owners aren’t IT professionals. That’s why our solution is installed and managed by our experts, so the owner can focus on running his or her business and not be burdened by costly equipment and technological knowledge.”
To let patrons know about the free WiFi service, TWCBC provides signage and marketing materials to the business to promote WiFi availability on-site, also helping attract more customers. Participating businesses receive complimentary listing in an online TWC WiFi Coverage Map at www.twc.com/wificoverage, as well as the free TWC WiFi Finder app, making it easier for customers to find connected locations.
The launch of TWCBC WiFi further expands Time Warner Cable’s growing WiFi network that includes over 35,000 hotspots in Los Angeles, New York City, Austin, Charlotte, Myrtle Beach, Kansas City and Hawaii. Additionally, the business hotspots join the CableWiFi network which offers more than 250,000 hotspots operated by TWC and other Internet service providers in major cities across the country including Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Orlando, Tampa, and more.
Charles Milligan, owner, Doc’s Bar & Grill in Austin, Texas, has been using TWCBC’s WiFi Hotspot for customers to access while dining and working away from the office.
“It’s just a flat-out advantage to be able to offer WiFi to people,” said Milligan. “People are able to do work outside of the office so they are coming to Doc’s and hanging out. By hanging out here they’re staying here longer and spending more money. They’re even having meetings here.”
The owner of Salon PF in Studio City, Calif., Paul McKay, has also found that more customers are using their smartphones and tablets while in the salon and appreciate that they can use the TWC WiFi Hotspot for free while waiting for an appointment.
“This is a great benefit for our clients to use. They can easily go online, email and communicate with friends, or even search the internet for certain hairstyles they’d like for us to do. And, they don’t have to use their cellular data plan,” said McKay.
A video featuring TWCBC customers leveraging the benefits of TWC WiFi can be viewed on the company’s blog Untangled.
TWCBC’s WiFi Hotspot service provides 24/7 phone support. Discover more at business.twc.com.
About Time Warner Cable Business Services
Time Warner Cable Business Services, a division of Time Warner Cable, offers a full complement of business communications tools to small, medium and enterprise-sized companies under its Time Warner Cable Business Class brand. Its Internet, voice, television, network and cloud services are enhanced by award-winning customer service and local support teams. Through its NaviSite subsidiary, Time Warner Cable Business Services also offers scalable managed services, including application services, enterprise hosting, and managed cloud services primarily in the U.S. and U.K. Time Warner Cable Business Services, founded in 1998, serves more than 625,000 business customers throughout Time Warner Cable's service areas. For more information, visit http://business.twc.com.
