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Comcast reveals the first details on its Xfinity Mobile wireless service
After months of teasing us, Comcast has finally revealed the first details for its upcoming smartphone wireless service. The service will debut as Xfinity Mobile, and it’s due to launch sometime later this year. The catch is that it will only be offered where Comcast already has its internet and cable TV service in the US.
Comcast’s main goal is to give its current customers the ultimate bundle deal, covering all of their TV, internet and phone needs. Xfinity Mobile will offer a number of plans, including one with unlimited data for $65 a month per line.
If customers have already signed up for Comcast’s premium Xfinity X1 TV service, they will get a nice discount on the unlimited data plan, with the price going down to $45 a month. People who feel they don’t need an unlimited plan can also sign up for a pay-as-you-go service, with Xfinity Mobile charging $15 per GB.
One really interesting part of Xfinity Mobile is that families can have some of their phones on the unlimited plan, and some can be on the pay-as-you-go service. This might come in handy for parents who want to give their kids a mobile phone, but also want to limit their data access. Customers can also switch between unlimited and pay-as-you-go plans with no penalties. Finally, the carrier won’t have any of those pesky line access fees either.
Xfinity Mobile's phones will be connecting up to towers operated by Verizon Wireless for their cellular coverage.
As Comcast previously announced, Xfinity Mobile’s phones will be connecting up to towers operated by Verizon Wireless for their cellular coverage. However, if one of Comcast’s millions of Wi-Fi hotspots is nearby, the phones will automatically connect to those locations, similar to how Google’s Project Fi works.
The company has confirmed Xfinity Mobile will sell the the iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus for the service. It’s being a little cagey on what Android-based products will be offered, but it confirmed that it will “feature the best devices from Samsung and LG”. Hopefully, that means customers can get the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus and the LG G6 via Xfinity Mobile.
AT&T already offers wireless phone bundle deals for its TV and internet customers. It will be interesting to see if Charter, the nation’s third-biggest cable and Internet provider (behind AT&T and Comcast) will jump in and launch its own wireless phone service as well.