Comcast has announced a major availability expansion of its home automation services, enabling the nearly 15 million users of its xFi Gateway and xFi Advanced Gateway to use the controls at no additional cost.
Comcast currently offers iOT-based home automation to 1 million subscribers of Xfinity Home, which is built on a foundation of 24/7 home alarm and security. Comcast is now essentially expanding at no additional charge the automation piece to homes with its xFi feature, which allows the smart control of Wi-Fi via devices ranging from smartphone to the X1 Voice Remote.
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Now, Xfinity customers can open and close door locks, adjust thermostats and turn lights on and off using Comcast apps on these same devices.
“The physical security business will continue to be a substantial business for us, but automation will be a value add. We’re making this available to a lot more people,” said Patti Loyack, VP of IP services at Comcast in a phone interview with Fierce.
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Meanwhile, following its acquisition of Silicon Valley IoT company Stringify in September, Comcast has also expanded the tent of IoT devices used in its home automation ecosystem.
Popular supported brands include August, Carrier, Chamberlain, Ecobee, GE, Honeywell, Kwikset, Liftmaster, LIFX, Lutron, Nest, Netgear Arlo, Philips Hue, Danalock, Sengled, SkyBell, Tile, Yale and Zen Ecosystems.
“There’s an average of 11 IoT devices in the average American home today,” Loyack added. “That’s going to grow to around 50 by 2020. We believe we’ve provided a platform to make using these devices much easier.”
Comcast made the announcements from the CES show in Las Vegas.