WASHINGTON & PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Comcast, a global media and technology company, today announced plans to create millions of WiFi access points for its customers through a neighborhood hotspot initiative. Comcast is beginning to give its Xfinity Internet customers an additional “xfinitywifi” signal (or SSID) in their home that is completely separate and distinct from the family’s private and secure home WiFi signal. Offered at no additional cost to Xfinity Internet residential customers, the additional WiFi hotspots will enable friends, relatives, visitors and other Xfinity Internet customers instant, easy access to fast and reliable WiFi.
“WiFi is at the center of our strategy to offer our customers the best online experience, whether it’s the fastest WiFi experience in the home, or a fast and reliable WiFi environment outside the home,” said Tom Nagel, Senior Vice President of Business Development, Comcast Cable. “WiFi is an important part of our strategy to be the place where customers connect all devices, anywhere and at any time.”
Comcast’s newest Wireless Gateway broadcasts two WiFi signals. By default, one is securely configured for the private use of the home subscriber. The second is a neighborhood “xfinitywifi” network signal that can be shared. This creates an extension of the Xfinity WiFi network and will allow visiting Xfinity Internet subscribers to sign in and connect using their own usernames and passwords.
As the nation’s largest ISP with nearly 20 million customers, Comcast started a neighborhood hotspot trial last year in parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Northern Virginia and the Greater Washington, D.C. metro area. Currently, more than 100,000 Xfinity Internet subscribers already enjoy these WiFi access points being offered by other Xfinity Internet subscribers.
WiFi is part of Comcast’s broader strategy to create the foundation our customers need to power their Internet-connected devices in and out of the home. Comcast recently introduced a new Wireless Gateway that gives customers the nation’s fastest wireless speeds with the most coverage throughout the connected home. By combining WiFi speeds with the latest Xfinity apps, home control technology and other Internet-enabled services, Comcast is giving customers new, simple and convenient ways to take advantage of the speed delivered on its broadband and WiFi networks.
Comcast’s WiFi strategy currently includes two approaches. The first is the inclusion of tens of thousands of Xfinity WiFi access points in the CableWiFi Alliance, which enables Xfinity Internet customers access to more than 150,000 indoor and outdoor WiFi hotspots on the go in more than a dozen major cities across the country through the “CableWiFi” SSID. The second is this launch of the new home-based, neighborhood hotspot initiative.
Comcast has invested tens of billions of dollars to create a network across the U.S. that makes broadband widely available. The company has changed the Internet experience for millions of customers by providing the nation’s fastest speeds, reliable service, trusted security and online content. Comcast has increased Internet speeds for its customers 11 times, most recently doubling two of its most popular Xfinity Internet speed plans, Blast! and Extreme 50, for no additional cost across the company’s entire footprint.
A coverage map and more information about Xfinity WiFi are both available at: www.xfinity.com/wifi.
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About Comcast Cable:
Comcast Cable is the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone provider to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses. Comcast has invested in technology to build an advanced network that delivers among the fastest broadband speeds, and brings customers personalized video, communications and home management offerings. Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and technology company. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.
