WideOpenWest soft launches mobile serviceWideOpenWest soft launches mobile service

WideOpenWest (WOW) has begun to market four mobile packages that feature unlimited talk and text along with a mix of shared and unlimited data options.

WOW, which has partnered with Reach Mobile on the offering, has not made any formal announcement about the launch, but details on pricing and packaging have surfaced on its mobile service web page.

It appears that WOW has begun to make the service, branded as WOW! Mobile powered by Reach, available in some of its service markets in Florida and Georgia. The company has been asked if and when it expects to make the service available across its entire footprint.

Figure 1: WOW announced its partnership with Reach Mobile about six months ago.
(Source: Sipa USA / Alamy Stock Photo)

Update: WOW confirmed to Light Reading that WOW! Mobile powered by Reach is initially available in WOW's Montgomery, Alabama, market. Under the initial offering, WOW's high-speed Internet customers can receive up to $10 off their mobile bill each month. "We look forward to offering this exciting option to WOW! customers across our footprint in the coming weeks," a WOW official said in an emailed statement.

WOW and Reach Mobile announced their partnership in February, confirming to Light Reading that WOW's new mobile offering will run on T-Mobile's network. Reach Mobile also has mobile relationships with AT&T and Verizon.

WOW's soft launch missed an original target by just over a week. Speaking on the company's Q1 2022 earnings call on May 9, WOW CEO Teresa Elder said the plan was to launch the new mobile offering in one of WOW's southern markets before the end of May, and follow with launches across all of its markets in the third quarter of 2022.

WOW, a competitive broadband operator that's been a subject of recent M&A rumors, is starting out with four plans that all include unlimited voice and text, and select plans with shared or unlimited data:

WOW joins Comcast, Charter Communications and Altice USA among US cable operators that have launched mobile services through a partnership model. Like its cable peers, WOW is pitching mobile primarily as a service to bundle with high-margin home broadband services. WOW is also discounting $10 from the monthly mobile bill for customers who combine mobile with WOW's home broadband service.

According to WOW's mobile services site, the operator is offering a bring-your-own-phone option (it has set up a page for customers to check phone compatibility), along with an online shop where customers can buy phones from Apple, Samsung and Motorola.

WOW's mobile service also supports hotspot connectivity – customers on the unlimited plan can consume up to 20 gigabytes per month on a hotspot before speeds are throttled down.

While WOW is just getting into the mobile game, the mobile/home broadband bundle has begun to pay off for other US cable operators. On an as-reported basis, US cable gobbled up 43.9% of net mobile adds in Q1 2022, according to MoffettNathanson.

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— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading