12:20 PM -- AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T)'s proposed merger with T-Mobile US Inc. may scupper Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC)'s original plans to add 3G to its mobile mix, but the cable MSO continues to play its Wi-Fi strategy to the hilt. (See Is AT&T Messing Up Cablevision's Mobile Plans?)

The latest: Cablevision has dedicated a video channel (910) to its Wi-Fi build-out, offering a place for customers to access coverage maps, learn how to authenticate devices so they can automatically log-in when they're in the presence of one of the MSO's thousands of indoor and outdoor hot spots or any of the access points operated by roaming partners Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) and Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC). (See MSO WiFi: Roam (If You Want To).)



Of course, it's there to drive awareness of the MSO's Wi-Fi service, which comes as a free addition to the company's cable modem service, but Cablevision is hopeful that the tool will also offer some guidance on how customers can actually tap in. The company claims that more than 500,000 of its Optimum Online customers have accessed its Wi-Fi platform so far.

But having access to all that information on the TV doesn't help much when you're on the go. Cablevision offers a lot of the same type of info on the Web.

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Light Reading Cable