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The
service, called XFi, allows users to set up their home Wi-Fi,
shut off children's devices at bedtime, and troubleshoot
problems from an application on their mobile phones, website or
television. It is now available for free to 10 million of
Comcast's Xfinity Internet customers with compatible WiFi
devices.
Comcast is trying to improve the home Wi-Fi experience at a time
when its customers are connecting a growing number of devices.
The Philadelphia-based company says that by 2020, Americans will
have an average of 50 connected devices in their homes.
Its efforts come at a time when broadband subscribers are
outnumbering video customers as more consumers drop their cable
packages or never subscribe in the first place. In 2016, Comcast
had 24.7 million high-speed Internet customers and 22.5 million
video customers, according to a filing.
On the company's post-earnings conference call, Chief Executive
Brian Roberts said last month that "we have more broadband
customers than we do video, and the rate of that growth is
pretty exciting in broadband." Comcast's broadband business grew
10.1 percent in the first quarter ended March 31.
In creating XFi, the company hopes to reduce churn, or customer
defections. Chris Satchell, chief product officer, said in an
interview that half of the customer complaints Comcast receives
about Internet service are actually about Wi-Fi.
"We want the connectivity in the home to be as good as
connectivity to the home," Satchell said.
(Reporting by Anjali Athavaley)
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