It is said that Comcast is planning to debut its Xfinity Mobile wireless brand before the end of this year. The set up is that the service will be operating on the network of industry leader Verizon Wireless. Back in 2011, the cable TV giant had inked an MVNO agreement with the major US wireless carrier, and now Comcast is now looking to execute that agreement in 2017.
So what exactly will Xfinity Mobile offer? Several industry watchers expect that the brand will be more of a Wi-Fi First service that takes full advantage of Comcast’s network of 15 million hotspots, while at the same time making full use of the Big Red’s cell network as back up. This is actually pretty reminiscent of what Google did with its Project Fi. And just like Google, Comcast is looking to leverage its already formidable fiber optic architecture, which should put Comcast in a prime position to make the most of the upcoming 5G (arriving in the next couple of years or so).
It has already been reported that Comcast will be teaming up with Apple as it makes preparations for the launch of its wireless service. This means that the upcoming new iPhone model -- the iPhone 8 -- will likely be offered by Xfinity Mobile, too. Moreover, it certainly does not hurt for the mobile brand to ride the excitement leading to the debut of a device that will become one of the most in-demand smartphones in the world.
Having said that, it bears noting that the MVNO market now is already flooded with players, which means that Xfinity Mobile will be entering an area already filled with existing MVNOs ready to protect their turf. On Verizon Wireless’ network alone, there are about eight other MVNOs leasing network capacity from the Big Red. Among the bunch, TracFone will likely be Xfinity Mobile’s immediate rival.
The good news is Xfinity Mobile still can differentiate its brand by offering something no other MVNO on Verizon Wireless has offered yet -- unlimited data. While it is true that members of the Big Four (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint) are constantly trying to one up each other when it comes to unlimited deals, smaller operators are also doing the same. But on Verizon’s network, that has not happened yet.
Interestingly, Brian Roberts, the chief executive officer of Comcast, has hinted that Comcast might strike an MVNO partnership with another major US wireless carrier, Sprint. That should make things even more interesting. But nothing is certain yet at this point, and we will all have to wait and see how things pan out in the next few months.
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https://www.wirefly.com/blog/news/comcast-launch-xfinity-mobile-later-year