Comcast offers free WiFi service in affected storm areas

Comcast said it operates thousands of its XFINITY WiFi hotspots in ten states that were hit by the massive storm earlier this week, including New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia.

The hotspots are located in popular public areas, such as malls, parks and train platforms, Comcast said. People can renew their free Wifi service every two hours through Nov. 7, the company said.

To get hooked up to the Web at one of the XFINITY hotspots, non-subscribers need to join the “xifinitywifi” network on their devices and then choose the “complimentary trial session” option on the drop down list, according to Comcast.

Meanwhile, AT&T and T-Mobile on Wednesday agreed to let their customers in New York and New Jersey use either company’s mobile network to make calls. The announcement came on the heels of the Federal Communications Commission reporting on Tuesday that roughly 25 percent of cell towers were out of service due to Sandy.

The government and people in cities rocked by the storm have heavily relied on the Internet and social media tools like Twitter and Facebook to communicate with one another amid power and cell phone service outages, according to the Wall Street Journal.