Finally, after many years, Comcast will be able to offer its own wireless service by next year.
Verizon and Comcast was able to make a deal that would "enable us to execute a comprehensive, long-term wireless strategy" , Comcast Cable president Neil Smith said. Now, he wasn't kidding about the long term part.
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts mentioned last Tuesday at the Goldmans Sachs' Annual Communacopia Conference in New York City that by the middle of 2017, wireless service would be up and ready.
The service would deliver connectivity over the Verizon Wireless network and Comcast's own millions of Wi-Fi hotspots around the U.S. "The Verizon network maybe improved with our 15 million hotspots," Roberts added.
Four years ago, Verizon was able to purchase bandwidth in wireless spectrum from other pay-TV companies and Comcast. The staggering amount was $3.6 billion in which Comcast can lease.
Customers who are within its service area will have the privilege to sign up for larger bundles from Comcast. "We believe there is a big payback with reduced churn, more stickiness, better satisfaction, and better product purchasing," Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said.
Roberts also introduced the new features on Netflix Xfinity X1 platform. One-button access to netflix is not the only feature that needs to be check. It has voice access with the voice-enable remote and with the X1 menu, they have a wide array of movies and TV shows from Netflix appearing side by side with Comcast's pay-TV programming.
However, The feature is currently being tested and would hopefully be available for Comcast's X1 users by Thanksgiving,
Comcast will not be the first cable company to provide wireless service. Google's Project Fi and Republic Wireless are the first to do it, they work as MVNOs or most commonly known as Mobile Virtual Network Operators.
No reports yet on how much the price will be for wireless services.
