Because there has been a major shift from watching terrestrial and digital television to online and on-demand video streaming, those who are in the business of the former now have to look for additional revenue streams and also a way to still be relevant to the consumers. Comcast is one of those companies and they have confirmed that they will be launching a new mobile phone service sometime in 2017, with the product relying heavily on WiFi and their subscriber-based hotspots.
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts himself confirmed that the company will be going in that direction next year. They will be looking to utilize the more than 15 million WiFi hotspots that are being facilitated by Comcast customers themselves. But for those areas where WiFi will not be available, the service will switch to the Verizon Network. They have been working on a technology that will seamlessly toggle between WiFi and cellular connectivity, without breaking the connection.
There are also reports that Comcast will be bidding for wireless airwaves, paving the way for their own network eventually. But Comcast Mobile (name tentative) will eventually function as an MVNO or mobile virtual network operator, wanting to compete with the likes of Boost Mobile, Cricket Wireless and the more than 300 operating in the US.
Other than that, we don’t know much about their plans for this mobile phone service, like when is the exact month they plan to launch or how much the service will actually cost. We’ll probably know more in the months to come of course.
VIA: SlashGear
