Comcast Jumps Into Wireless Wars

Cable-TV giant to unveil cellular plans in challenge to Verizon, AT&T

April 6, 2017

Comcast Corp. is entering the fiercely competitive wireless phone market, just as big carriers like AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. are pushing unlimited data plans and jockeying for a piece of Comcast’s television turf.

The nation’s largest cable-TV company by subscribers unveiled Thursday details of a service, dubbed Xfinity Mobile, that it has been preparing to launch for years. The service will be available to customers only in combination with at least the company’s home internet service.

Comcast will offer unlimited calling, texting and data plans that cost either $45 or $65 a month per line, depending on how many other Comcast services are bundled together. Comcast also has a unique offer: the chance to pay just $12 a gigabyte. That means some customers who don’t use a lot of data can opt for a plan that is much cheaper than what major carriers offer.

Comcast’s $65-per-line option is $15 less than what Verizon charges for a single unlimited line and undercuts AT&T by $25. Customers can get the $45 option only if they have one of Comcast’s high-end internet and cable bundles, which start at $150 a month.

Comcast hopes that by offering a “quad play” -- cable TV, home internet, home phone and wireless service -- customers will be more likely to stick with Comcast and less likely to cut the cord. While AT&T and Verizon have the ability to bundle all four services in some markets, neither company has done so aggressively.

Wireless carriers are contending with slowed growth and a cutthroat price war for mobile customers, while cable companies like Comcast are navigating a saturated pay-TV business under assault from cord-cutting and inexpensive online video options. For both groups, the other’s turf looks ripe for disruption.

AT&T, which bought DirecTV in 2015, has been aggressive in going after cable. In November, it started selling a streaming-video service called DirecTV Now. AT&T lets its wireless customers stream unlimited amounts of video from the service without counting against data caps.

Verizon is also laying the groundwork for a similar streaming-video service that could compete with cable TV bundles, people familiar with the matter said. It has also touted plans to build ultra-high-speed wireless connections, known as 5G, that could one day compete with home broadband services.

Comcast views wireless phone service as an opportunity to create a business that will help it retain customers and sell more of its other products into homes. Charter Communications Inc., the second-largest cable company, has said it will follow suit with a mobile offering in 2018.

Comcast’s wireless service will have nationwide coverage but would be offered only to customers in its cable footprint who buy at least its internet service. Its least expensive home service is a $40 monthly broadband plan. The company’s cable network passes about 50 million homes.

Comcast will deliver the service using Verizon’s cellular network, under a reseller agreement that the companies struck more than five years ago. Comcast will also rely on millions of Wi-Fi hot spots it has built to help manage data traffic.

Similar to telecom carriers’ policies, Comcast will slow download speeds for unlimited customers after they use 20 gigabytes in a month. It says about 3% of customers go over that limit.