By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN —New Yorkers will get wireless Internet access in 32 parks in a deal between the city and the area's two largest cable providers.
As part of a new franchise agreement with the city, Time Warner Cable and Cablevision will share the $10 million bill, according to a statement by the city's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications said.
In the deal, the cable companies will also give subscribers a free month of service if their representatives show up late – a plan of obvious appeal to anyone who's ever wasted an afternoon waiting for the cable guy.
The franchise agreement allows the cable companies access to residents and businesses in the city.
While federal law prohibits the city from collecting more than 5 percent of the cable companies' gross revenues -- essentially rent for use of city property -- DITT spokesman Nicholas Sbordone said the agency was committed to squeezing more out of the deal for New Yorkers.
Time Warner and Cablevision subscribers will enjoy free Wi-Fi service in the parks under the new agreement, while non-subscribers will be allowed to use the wireless for three 10-minute sessions per month without charge and for 99 cents a day after that.
The companies also agreed to bring free Internet access to 40 community meeting places throughout the city.
As for the cable guy lateness penalty, it's just one of several consumer protection standards that the cable companies agreed to during the negotiations.
Not only will customers receive free installation, plus one month of free service, when the cable guy misses their appointment window, they will also get a notification on their cell phone when the employee is en route, Sbordone explained in an email.
Best of all, customers will be entitled to speak to an actual human being no more than 30 seconds after calling the customer service hot line.
More than 1,000 frustrated New Yorkers restored to calling 311 this year, after being given the run-around by cable company hotlines, according to the New York Times.
