Comcast tacks on $20 HD video access fee for unlimited mobile plans

Comcast recently made some significant changes to its Xfinity Mobile plans, including the addition of a $20-per-month HD Pass to its unlimited plans.

Subscribers who pay the fee (per line) will get upgraded to HD resolution (720p on phones and 1080p on tablets) and get access faster speeds when the network is congested. Without the upgrade, video on Xfinity Mobile unlimited plans streams at 480p resolution, although plans always offer HD streaming when devices are connected to Wi-Fi.

Unlimited customers currently pay $45 per month per line for cellular data.

At the same time, Comcast introduced new By the Gig shared data plans for Xfinity Mobile, and those options all feature video streaming at either 720p or 1080p. For customers who opt for the new plans, Comcast is including a Data Saver feature that provides the ability to control video resolution.

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“It’s a natural evolution of our service that puts each individual in control of building the mobile data plan that works for them, and then easily adjusting it with one click of the app – whether to switch data plans mid-billing cycle based on usage, or turn on HD to watch a show and then immediately turn it off to lower data consumption,” said Rui Costa, vice president of product management and customer experience for Xfinity Mobile, in a statement.

Comcast’s mobile service operates on Verizon’s wireless network via an MVNO agreement with the operator. According to The Verge, limitations on video resolution limitations with Xfinity Mobile are in place due to restrictions set by Verizon.

Xfinity Mobile officially launched in 2017. Comcast said during its earnings call in July that the service now has approximately 1.5 million customers and that it added 181,000 net customer lines in the second quarter.