Comcast closes Icontrol Networks buy, set to license Xfinity Home to other MSOs

Comcast said it has closed its purchase of Austin, Texas-based IoT business Icontrol Networks, which provides the backbone of the operator’s Xfinity Home service portfolio.

With the acquisition, announced in June with undisclosed terms, finally sealed, Comcast can proceed with plans to license Xfinity Home as white-label service, much the same way the cable company licenses its X1 video platform.

“This announcement will open up a new wholesale line of business for Xfinity Home,” said Daniel Herscovici, senior VP and general manager of Xfinity Home, writing on the company Comcast Voices blog. “With it, [Comcast will] continue to provide the underlying platform that powers home security and automation services to a number of leading MSOs Icontrol was already serving around the world, including in Australia, Canada and Japan. We will also be able to offer wholesale services to new customers, either domestic or international. We have plans to make a more formal announcement about this new line of business soon.”

RELATED: Comcast acquires Xfinity Home vendor Icontrol Networks, will maintain Austin offices

Icontrol’s “Converge” platform powers the home automation services of Charter Communications, Cox Communications and Canada’s Rogers Communications, just to name a few cable operators. 

At CES in January, a Comcast rep told FierceCable that once Comcast closes on Icontrol, it will license the full range of Xfinity Home services, which have grown in recent years to include such nationally distributed third-party devices as August Smart Locks, Chamberlain MyQ garage controllers, Lutron Caseta wireless controllers and dimmers, and now, Zen thermostats. 

In his blog post, Herscovici said Comcast would establish an "IoT Center of Excellence" within Icontrol’s Austin headquarters. 

“This will be a key hub where our engineers and developers will design innovations to support our various IoT businesses,” he said. “There are many local, talented engineers in Austin, and we are excited to welcome them to Comcast. Those engineers will work closely with our other teams in Philadelphia, Silicon Valley and other locations across the country, to create great customer experiences that leverage our suite of products and services. We are investing in Austin, and we hope as this news spreads that we can attract even more talent to come and work with our team.”