Cox: Wi-Fi for All as Jonas Bears Down

With winter storm/blizzard Jonas bearing down on the East Coast, Cox is making its Wi-Fi hotspots free to everyone—subscribers and non-subscribers alike—in its Northern Virginia footprint beginning Jan. 22. A Cox spokesperson said that the freebie applies only to Northern Virginia--which is predicted to be among the hardest hit areas.

The freebie will extend through Jan. 29 in an effort to "support the community through Winter Storm Jonas."

The storm is expected to dump two feet of snow or more in the region.

The hotspots, cable's primary mobile broadband play, can be found at shopping centers, subway stations, parks and other public spaces.

Cox put out an email advisory to customers informing them of the hotspot policy and asking them to report downed Cox lines if they were sure they were Cox lines, but to keep away from all downed lines.

Cox also advised that if there is a service interruption, it will be coordinating with energy providers in any recovery efforts.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.