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U.S. cableco prepping WiFi-led service that falls back on airwaves leased from Verizon.
U.S. cableco Comcast on Tuesday confirmed plans to launch its long-awaited mobile service by mid-2017.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said at Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia event that, similarly to Google’s Project Fi, Comcast’s mobile service will lean heavily on its 15 million-strong WiFi footprint, and will use spectrum leased from Verizon Wireless as back up.
Comcast has a longstanding MVNO deal with Verizon, and the company has for several years been expected to launch mobile services hosted on the latter’s network.
It is also worth noting that Comcast registered to participate in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) incentive auction, which aims to sell off 600-MHz frequencies until now owned by TV broadcasters.
Acquiring 600-MHz spectrum would greatly extend the potential reach of Comcast’s mobile service; however, it would require the company to spend heavily on base stations and backhaul.
Roberts said in the WSJ report that Comcast plans to market mobile services within its existing footprint, pitching it to existing-and-potential cable customers.
Rolling out a mobile service will help Comcast defend itself against the likes of AT&T and Verizon, which are making aggressive moves into content, particularly AT&T in the wake of its DirecTV acquisition.
"We believe there will be a big payback with reduced churn, more stickiness and better satisfaction," Roberts said, in the report.
