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 Logo used since 2021 | |
 Comcast Center,Philadelphia headquarters | |
| Xfinity | |
| Formerly | Comcast Cable (1981–2010) |
| Company type | Division |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | April 2, 1981; 44 years ago (1981-04-02) (as Comcast Cable) February 3, 2010; 15 years ago (2010-02-03) (as Xfinity) |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Area served | United States and Canada |
Key people | Dave Brown (president &CEO) Dana Strong (president, Consumer Services) Matthew Strauss (EVP, Xfinity Services) |
| Products | Cable television,Mobile,Broadband internet,VoIP phone,Home security |
| Revenue |  US$$66.318 billion (2022) |
| US$21.17 billion (2017) | |
| Total assets | US$186.95 billion (2017) |
| Total equity | US$69.45 billion (2017) |
| Parent | Comcast |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website | xfinity.com |
| Footnotes / references [1][2][3][4] | |
Comcast Cable Communications, LLC,doing business asXfinity, is an Americantelecommunications business segment and division of theComcast Corporation. It is used to market consumercable television,internet,telephone, and wireless services provided by the company. The brand was first introduced in 2010; prior to that, these services were marketed primarily under the Comcast name.
As of 2023[update] its CEO is Dave Watson, its chairman isBrian L. Roberts, and its CFO is Catherine Avgiris.[5][2] Xfinity went from US$23.7 billion in revenue in 2007[6] to $50.04 billion in 2016.[7]
In February 2010, Comcast began to re-brand its consumertriple play service offerings under the name Xfinity; Comcast Digital Cable was renamed "Xfinity TV", Comcast Digital Voice became "Xfinity Voice", and Comcast High-Speed Internet became "Xfinity Internet". The re-branding and an associated promotional campaign were scheduled to coincide with the2010 Winter Olympics.[8][9]
The rebranding was characterized by the media as an effort to sidestep the negativity of the Comcast brand.[10][11][12]Time considered Xfinity to be among the worst corporate renamings of all time, asking "Will the name change work? Probably not, but at least it'll sound a bit edgier when you're put on hold...with Xfinity."[13]
| State | Overall potential coverage area[14] |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 97.9% |
| Massachusetts | 85.4% |
| Utah | 78.5% |
| Illinois | 75.9% |
| Colorado | 75.9% |
| Washington | 73.1% |
| Pennsylvania | 69.1% |
| Maryland | 69% |
| New Hampshire | 68.8% |
| New Jersey | — |
| Michigan | 60.3% |
| Missouri | — |
| Oregon | 57.9% |
| Indiana | 57.7% |
| Georgia | 56.4% |
| Tennessee | 56.0% |
| New Mexico | 55.4% |
| Florida | 52.7% |
| Connecticut | 50.6% |
| Minnesota | 45.6% |
| Virginia | 41.5% |
| Mississippi | 31.9% |
| California | 31.8% |
| Delaware | — |
Comcast is the largest provider ofcable internet access in the United States, servicing 40% of the market in 2011.[15] As of July 26, 2018, Comcast has 26.5 million high-speed internet customers.[16]
Comcast began offering internet services in late 1996, when it helped found the@Home Network, which sold internet service through Comcast's cable lines. The agreement continued after @Home's merger withExcite.[17] When the combined company Excite@Home filed for bankruptcy in 2002, Comcast moved their roughly 950,000 internet customers completely onto their own network.[18]
Along with the price of internet subscriptions, Comcast charges users an additional $15.00/month to rent acable modem.[19] This fee has been seen by some as unfair,[19][20] but is waived for customers who buy their own modems.[21] Comcast charges $20 for internet installation,[22] but the fee is waived for customers who opt to install themselves.[23]
In 2011, Comcast launched its "Internet Essentials" program, which offers low-cost internet service to families with children who qualify for free or reduced price school lunches. TheU.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) required this budget service as a condition for allowing Comcast's acquisition ofNBCUniversal in January 2011.[24] Of an estimated 2.60 million households eligible for the program, about 220,000 households participate in the program as of June 2013.[25][26][27] A similar program is available from other internet providers through the non-profit Connect2compete.org.[27][28] Comcast has stated that the program will accept new customers for a total of three years.[24] In March 2014, as he met with FCC concerning the Time Warner Cable merger, Comcast vice president David Cohen told reporters that the internet essentials program will be extended indefinitely.[29]
At the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show, Comcast unveiled a new software platform for its Arris 1682G and Cisco 3941T/3939 modems, which would offer a redesigned configuration interface, support for remote setup and management via an Xfinity mobile app, and enabling integration of supportedsmart home devices with other Xfinity platforms such as Xfinity TV. The new platform launched under the brand xFi in May 2017. Comcast also unveiled the xFi Advanced Gateway, a new router designed to facilitate faster Wi-Fi speeds, including support for802.11ac Wave 2, as well as internal support forBluetooth Low Energy,Thread, andZigbee for finer integration withInternet of things devices, and support for an accompanying line ofWi-Fi extenders (manufactured by Plume).[30][31][32][33]
In December 2022, Comcast announced that it had trialed symmetric, 10-gigabit service usingDOCSIS 4.0; this service was deployed for selected Gigabit Pro fiber business customers in June 2023.[34][35]
Comcast operates a network of public Wi-Fi hotspots for Xfinity internet subscribers known as Xfinity WiFi, which consists of a mixture of hotspots installed in public locations and businesses, and those generated by supported Xfinity home gateways on an opt-out basis. Users on the "Performance" tier or higher receive unlimited usage of these hotspots after signing in with their Xfinity Account. By default, all dual-band Xfinity home gateways operate both a private network, and a public network with theSSID "xfinitywifi". To conserve bandwidth, these hotspots are capped at 5 simultaneous users. Customers can opt out of providing Xfinity WiFi through either the Comcast website, or by installing a third-party router.[36][37]
Comcast has received criticism for this practice, with critics arguing that the company was abusing customer resources (including bandwidth and electricity) to provide services for other customers, as well as concerns regarding security, and liability for actions performed by users while connected to these home hotspots; in 2014, a proposed class action lawsuit was filed in California, citing violations of theComputer Fraud and Abuse Act and similar state laws for these reasons. Comcast defended the service by stating that the public Wi-Fi is firewalled from devices connected to the in-home network, was designed to have minimal bandwidth impact to "support robust usage", and that customers would not be liable for the actions of other users, as abusers can be traced by means of the Xfinity account they used to sign into the network.[38][39] The lawsuit was taken to arbitration.[40]
In the wake ofHurricane Irma, all Xfinity WiFi hotspots in Florida were opened to non-Comcast subscribers.[41]
Initially, Comcast had a policy of terminating broadband customers who use "excessive bandwidth", a term the company refused to define in its terms of service, which once said only that a customer's use should not "represent (in the sole judgment of Comcast) an overly large burden on the network".[42] Company responses to press inquiries suggested a limit of several hundred gigabytes per month.[43][44] In September 2007, Comcast spokesman Charlie Douglas said the company defined "excessive use" as the equivalent of 30,000 songs, 250,000 pictures or 13 million emails in a month.[45]
Comcast introduced a 250 GB monthlybandwidth cap to its broadband service on October 1, 2008,[46] combining both upload and download towards the monthly limit. If a user exceeded the cap three times within six months, the customer's residential services may have been terminated for one year.[47] A spokesperson stated that this policy had been in place for some time, but was the first time Comcast has announced a specific usage limit.[48]
As the cap provoked a strongly negative reaction from some,[49] Comcast decided to modify its policy in 2012. Under the new system, the cap was replaced with a data threshold and increased to 300GB in some markets, and consumers who exceed this threshold are charged $10 for every 50 GB above the limit.[50][51][52] Customers could purchase a $30 add-on for "unlimited" data.[53] In a leaked memo, Comcast employees were instructed to state that the policy is for "Fairness and providing a more flexible policy to our customers", and not for controlling network congestion.[52]
On April 27, 2016, Comcast announced that it would raise its data threshold in trial markets to 1 TB by June 2016; the company stated that "more than 99 percent of our customers do not come close to using a terabyte." The decision to raise the cap came following implication of increased scrutiny surrounding them by the FCC: in its approval ofCharter Communications' purchase ofTime Warner Cable, the Commission stipulated that Charter must not implement caps. As previously, a $10 overage fee is charged for every 50 GB above the limit, and customers can purchase an add-on for "unlimited" data, but its price was increased to $50.[53] In October 2016, Comcast announced that bandwidth thresholds would be implemented in the majority of its markets (outside of New York and the northeast) beginning November 1, 2016.[54] The data usage plan does not currently apply to the Gigabit Pro tier of service, Business Internet customers, customers on Bulk Internet agreements, and customers with Prepaid Internet.[55]
On November 23, 2020, Comcast announced a new 1.2TB data cap will be implemented for all of the remaining areas in the northeast by March 2021.[56] However, it was postponed due to pressure from the Pennsylvanian attorney general due to concerns on how it would impact customers, especially for those working at home during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[57]
In September 2007, a rumor emerged among tech blogs that Comcast was throttling or even blocking internet traffic transmitted via theBitTorrent protocol.[58] Comcast vehemently denied the accusations of blocking traffic, stating that "Comcast does not, has not, and will not block any Web sites or online applications, including peer-to-peer services", and that "We engage in reasonable network management".[59] After more widespread confirmation that Comcast was throttling BitTorrent traffic,[60] Comcast said it occasionally delayed BitTorrent traffic in order to speed up other kinds of data, but declined to go into specifics.[61] Following the announcement of an official investigation by the FCC,[62] Comcast voluntarily ended the traffic discrimination.[63] The FCC investigation concluded that Comcast's throttling policies were illegal.[64] However, after filing a lawsuit in September 2008,[65] Comcast overturned the illegality of its network management in 2010, as the court ruled that the FCC lacked the authority to enforce net neutrality under the FCC's then current regulatory policy. The court suggested instead of its current framework, the FCC move to acommon carrier structure to justify its enforcement.[66] As of February 2014, the FCC has announced a new justification,[67] but avoided the more extensive regulation required by the common carrier framework.[68]
In 2010,Netflix signed an agreement withLevel 3 Communications to carry its data. Shortly after, Level 3 entered a heated dispute concerning whether Level 3 would have to pay Comcast to bridge their respective networks, in an agreement known aspeering.[69] The disagreement continued as Netflix's current carrier,Cogent Communications, explicitly placed blame for Netflix bottlenecks on Comcast and several other ISPs.[70] In February 2014, after rumors surfaced that Comcast and Netflix had reached an unspecified agreement,[71] the companies confirmed that Netflix was paying Comcast to connect to its network.[72] The details of the agreement are not public,[73] and speculation disagrees about whether the agreement is a precedent againstnet neutrality, or a continuation of normal peering agreements.[74]
Xfinity Voice (formerlyComcast Digital Voice) is a Voice Over IPcable telephony service that was launched in 2005 in some markets,[75] and to all of Comcast's markets in 2006. Comcast's older service, Comcast Digital Phone, continued to offer service for a brief period, until Comcast shut it down around in late 2007.[76] In 2009, after completing transition from their old service, Comcast had 7.6 million voice customers.[77] As of the end of 2013, Comcast Digital Voice had reached 10.7 million subscribers.[78]
At the start of 2012, Comcast stood as the United States' third-largest residential line provider,[79] supplying 9.34 million residential lines.[79]
Xfinity Voice allows communication over the internet usingVoIP, but uses aprivate network instead of apublic IP address, which allows Comcast to prioritize voice data during heavy traffic. In technical terms, on Comcast'sHybrid Fiber Coaxial network, calls are placed into individual Unsolicited Grant Service flows, based onDOCSIS 1.1Quality of service standards. For the customer, this has the benefit of preventing network congestion from interfering with call quality. Other, non-Comcast VoIP services on Comcast's network must use the lower priority public IP addresses. This separation of traffic into separate flows, orSmart pipe, has been criticised as a violation ofnet neutrality, whereby all data traffic should be treated equally—dumb pipe.[80] The practice was questioned by the FCC in 2009.[81] In their response, Comcast stated that services that usetelecommunications are not necessarilytelecommunications services, and said that the FCC's designation of Comcast Digital Voice as aninformation service exempted it from telecommunications service regulations on traditional landline. Comcast also said that because Comcast Voice was a separate service, it was unfair to directly compare the data for Comcast Voice with the data for other VoIP services.[82][83]
Because telephone services over VoIP are not automatically tied to a physical address, Xfinity Voice utilizesE911 to help911 emergency service operators to automatically locate the source of the 911 call.[84] Voice calls are delivered as a digital stream over the Comcast network, signal is converted to analogplain old telephone service lines at the cable modem, which outputs on standard physical analog styleRJ-11 ports.
Comcast's cable television customers peaked in 2007, with about 24.8 million customers.[85] Comcast had lost customers every year since. However, the first quarterly gain in customers since their peak occurred in the fourth quarter of 2013.[86] As of the end of 2013, Comcast had a total of 21.7 million cable customers.[87] The average cost of Comcast's Digital Basic cable subscription had increased 72% from 2003 to 2012.[88] In the fourth quarter of 2015, Comcast got 89,000 new video subscribers. This was their highest gain since 2007.[89]
Comcast also charges a Regulatory Recovery Fee of varying size(s) with their Digital Basic cable subscription in order to "recover additional costs associated with governmental programs".[90] Since January 2014, Comcast has also charged a Broadcast TV Fee to "defray the rising costs of retransmitting broadcast television signals(sic)."[91]
In May 2012, Comcast softlaunched X1 (codenamed "Xcalibur"), a new hardware and software platform for its television services in Boston. It features wider support for internet content and video streaming apps, and a remote control withvoice recognition input. X1 was scheduled for nationwide availability by the end of 2013.[92][93][94][95] Comcast has licensed the X1 platform asmiddleware to other providers, includingCox Cable (as "Cox Contour"),[96] and Canadian providersShaw (as "Shaw BlueCurve TV"),[97]Rogers (as "Rogers Ignite TV")[98] andVidéotron (as "Helix").[99] Rogers (which had meanwhile acquired Shaw) announced a deeper technology partnership with Comcast in April 2024, and began rebranding its cable TV and internet products as "Rogers Xfinity" later that year.[100]
In 2019, Comcast launched Xfinity Flex, an add-on for Xfinity Internet that offers subscribers adigital media player based on the X1 platform with access toover-the-top media services. The service is marketed as an alternative to the full Xfinity TV service forcord-cutters[101][102] In October 2021, Comcast launched XClass TV, a line ofHisense-manufacturedsmart TVs based on X1, and sold exclusively throughWalmart; they marked the first X1-based product to be sold directly at retail to consumers.[103][104] In 2022, both Xfinity Flex and XClass TV were brought under Comcast'sXumo joint venture withCharter Communications, and rebranded as Xumo Stream Box and Xumo TV respectively.[105][106]
Beginning in the mid-2000s, the prices of retransmission fees, requirements for cable companies to retransmit television broadcasters content, have become more expensive.[107] These fees (and the arguments over them between broadcasters and distributors) causedblackouts of certain (influential) television programming. TheU.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) then reviewed its rules for broadcasters and distributors to make any possible changes to them in response to the high-profile blackouts.[108] Comcast has had ten year agreements withCBS,[109]Disney,[110] and theFox Broadcasting Company[111] for distributing and reproducing content. The financial details of the deals are not known.
Due to retransmission fees becoming more expensive every year, broadcasters pay more expensive substantial fees for retransmittingbroadcast television. Comcast instated Broadcast TV Fee (as a part of the Digital Basic cable subscription) to gain lost profit from paying more expensive fees to retransmit programming content. Comcast's subsidiary,NBCUniversal, was one of several broadcasters party toAmerican Broadcasting Cos. v. Aereo, Inc., over the question of whetherAereo is a retransmitter (which would require it to pay retransmission fees).[112] The case was decided on June 25, 2014, in favor of the broadcasters in a 6–3 decision.[113]
Comcast has a home security andhome automation service known as Xfinity Home in some of its service areas. The service has a burglar and fire alarm, surveillance cameras, and wireless motion sensors put on doorways and windows to detect when said doorway or window was opened, and to detect when someone was in a house when it was vacant, However, Xfinity Home had[when?] a vulnerability that when exploited, falsely reported that all was well. The wireless motion sensors Xfinity Home used could also be easily jammed, and thus disabled, by radio frequencies.[114]
 | |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
|---|---|
| Founded | April 6, 2017 |
Key people | Greg Butz (President) |
| Website | www |
On April 6, 2017, Comcast launchedXfinity Mobile, amobile virtual network operator (MVNO) on theVerizon mobile network.[115]
Xfinity Mobile providesprepaid (with users able to purchase data in 1 GB bundles) and monthly unlimited plans, with the latter throttled after 20 GB of use. The service is sold exclusively to Comcast internet subscribers, and includes access to Xfinity WiFi.[116][115]
Analysts perceived Xfinity Mobile as being a response to AT&T's acquisition ofDirecTV, which added the national satellite provider alongside its existingwireline andwireless services, and an increased push towardsmobile television.[117] In the third quarter of 2018, Xfinity Mobile surpassed 1 million subscribers.[118] On May 18, 2020, Xfinity Mobile announced plans with5G data.[119]
Comcast ran a3DTV channel known asXfinity 3D from February 20, 2011[120] until December 16, 2014, on Xfinity cable systems.[120] The channel mainly featuredNBC Sports andUniversal Pictures content in the format, along with content from other studios and demonstration films in the 3D format.
In addition to residential consumers, Comcast also serves businesses as customers, targeting small businesses with fewer than 20 employees and mid-sized businesses of 20–500 employees.[121] In 2009,Minneapolis–Saint Paul became the first city in which Comcast Business Class offered 100 Mbit/s Internet service, which includes Microsoft Communication Services.[122] Comcast Business Class Internet service does not have a bandwidth usage cap.[123][124]
Comcast Business services used to be sold exclusively through direct sales employees. In March 2011, Comcast created anindirect sales channel called the Solution Provider Program, a comprehensive indirect channel program that enables telecommunications consultants andsystem integrators to sell Comcast's services such as Business Class Internet, Voice, and high-capacityEthernet services to small and mid-market businesses. The program offers recurring commissions for sales partners based on monthly revenue, and Comcast will provide, install, manage and bill for these services. For the initial launch of the Solutions Provider Program, Comcast enlisted three national master representatives—Telarus, based inSalt Lake City, Utah; Intelisys, based inPetaluma, California; and Telecom Brokerage Inc (TBI), based inChicago. Sub-agent sales partners must work with one of these three partners in the early stages of the program.[125]
Xfinity currently sponsors theNASCAR Xfinity Series and is a premier sponsor of theNASCAR Cup Series. On February 4, 2025, the company announced it will no longer sponsor the Xfinity series after 2025 but will remain an premier sponsor of the Cup Series.[126] They currently sponsor23XI Racing driversTyler Reddick andBubba Wallace promoting Xfinity Mobile and Xfinity 10G. Since 2020, they have sponsored the penultimate race in the Cup Series, theXfinity 500 atMartinsville Speedway.[127]
Xfinity and its parent company, Comcast, were sued in August 2016 inKing County Superior Court by the State of Washington (AG Ferguson, Washington's Attorney General) for $100 million[128] over claims that Comcast violated the state's Consumer Protection Act 445,000 times over its Service Protection Plan[129] by over charging for call service fees, knowingly using improper credit screening practices, and by lying about the costs of its Service Protection Plan to 49,660 customers on support calls.[130] The amount that the customers unknowingly paid for the plan from 2011 to 2015 was $71 million. However, when asked for recorded customer service calls discussing the Service Protection Plan, Comcast said that it was "too burdensome". Eventually it gave 4,500 samples of the requested calls, but was accused of deleting many other calls by Washington. In response, Comcast said that it was "not under any obligation to preserve them" and that it deleted customer service calls routinely. It accused Washington of only "listening to 150 calls when we gave 4,500 of them",[131] and said that "customers receive an email confirmation when they sign up for the protection plan". The lawsuit lasted until June 2019, when a King County court judge, Judge Timothy Bradshaw, ruled in favor of Washington State and against Comcast, ordering Comcast to pay $9.1 million in penalties in addition to providing restitution to customers within 60 days.[132]
Xfinity and its parent company Comcast were sued through putative class action on June 19, 2018, by Illinois customer Elizabeth O' Neill, over accusations of opening Xfinity Mobile accounts for customers without their consent, and failing to notify customers when the same accounts were infiltrated without their authorization to buy new cell phones from Comcast's website.[133][non-primary source needed]They had done this by using information from the customer's already established internet and cable accounts. The case was ruled to be solved in arbitration in accordance with the subscriber agreement she had agreed to.[134]
In 2023, Comcast began to market all Xfinity broadband services as "the Xfinity 10G Network", in relation to its recent introduction of 10-gigabit fiber service for business customers.[35][135] In 2024, the National Advertising Division of theBetter Business Bureau (BBB) ruled that Comcast's marketing of its broadband service as the "Xfinity 10G Network" was misleading, as "10G" could be insinuated as referring to 10 gigabit service. This service is not available to all households as it requires installation of afiber opticlocal loop, as DOCSIS isn't capable of 10 gigabit end-user speeds.[135] In January 2024, Comcast agreed to stop using the "Xfinity 10G Network" branding in this manner.[136]
On December 20, 2023, it was revealed that an Xfinity data breach had exposed the personal data of 35.8 million people, including usernames, passwords, and answers to security questions, due to a vulnerability in the Citrix software used.[137]
