Midco has pushed ahead with the launch of a whole-home WiFi service, powered by gear and software from AirTies, that costs $7.95 per month for up to four wireless access points.
The offering, hinted at last November, uses an intelligent mesh system from AirTies that’s designed to boost in-home WiFi coverage. The system uses wireless access points from AirTies that work together to create a wireless mesh system that, the vendor claims, provides better performance that the use of wireless extenders.
For subs who take the offer, Midco said a tech will visit to do an assessment and determine how many wireless access points are needed to extend the signal strength, handles the install, and then provides an updated “heat map” showing the results.
Midco joins a growing group of operators that offer premium, whole-home WiFi products aimed at eliminating wireless dead zones. Bright House Networks, for example, launched its Echo Home Networking service in July 2014. Pricing for that product varies based on the customer’s Internet package, but most pay less than $10 per month for it, the company ntoed.
Midco, which is offering the new premium product in Sioux Falls, S.D., is the first-announced U.S. service provider customer for AirTies, which has said it has trials underway with other, still-unnamed mid-sized and large service providers here. Outside the U.S., its customersinclude Sky, Vodafone, Singtel, and Swisscom, among others.
“With more connected devices than ever and bandwidth consumption doubling every 18 months, home wireless networks can become overburdened,” Jon Pederson, CTO of Midco, said in a statement. “At the same time, factors such as home layout, other wireless devices, and devices using older technology can interfere with Wi-Fi signals. “Our Whole Home Wi-Fi solution helps customers’ wireless networks provide a consistently strong signal to every corner of the house, even to decks and patios.”
