Comcast announces all-in-one home Wi-Fi service and hardware at CES 2017
Tech Industry
If you're a Comcast customer, your home WiFi could be getting a major upgrade.
Comcast announced its very own cloud-based home WiFi management system, that they're saying will offer better connectivity and easier setup that its previous gateway system.
Advanced Gateway is a router system similar to mesh WiFi systems, like eero or Google WiFi.
Mesh WiFi aims to blanket your home with fast connections using small extenders placed near weaker signal areas.
Comcast's new solution will include optional extenders, new routers with better range, voice and TV integration and a simple portal you'll be able to use to manage your home network.
The company plans to activate the software side of this new service at no cost to customers on supporting routers in the first part of 2017.
The advanced gateway will begin shipping to Comcast customers later in the first half of 2017.
It won't cost anything more than a standard router rental, but there is a reason Comcast wants you to use its hardware.
Your home network would be connected with Comcast at all times via a comcast.net account.
The Comcast insists it won't collect personal information and customers can opt out.
This is definitely an effort to combat those third part options mentioned earlier, but if Comcast can fulfill its promise to continually update the system with advanced security features and other options That might be a very easy and powerful upgrade for existing Comcast subscribers.
I'm Ashley [INAUDIBLE] for CNET.com.
See you in Humans.