Comcast to offer free wireless gateway

Comcast today announced a free wireless gateway offering the company hopes will generate demand for higher-speed broadband services. The gateway device provides the functionality of a WiFi router, DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem and voice adapter in a single device and will be offered at no extra charge beyond the standard equipment rental fee to new customers purchasing Comcast’s Blast!, Extreme 50 and Extreme 105 (unfiltered: Comcast bests FCC’s 100 Mb/s goal by 5 Mb/s, but there’s a price to pay) Xfinity Internet service. Existing customers also can take advantage of the offer by contacting Comcast, a Comcast spokeswoman told Connected Planet.

“As customers bring more wireless-ready devices into the home, it becomes more important to have a fast Internet connection and home network to power these devices,” wrote the Comcast spokeswoman in an email to Connected Planet. “With the Xfinity Wireless Gateway, we’re giving customers an all-in-one device that is supported and maintained by Comcast to power their home and ensure they have a great experience.”

The regular purchase price of the Wireless Gateway is $199.

Six connected devices per home by 2015
Comcast expects customers to average six connected devices in their households by 2015, the Comcast spokeswoman said. “With this proliferation of devices you can see why customers need more speed to power these devices,” she said.

The Wireless Gateway is capable of supporting dozens of wireless devices and “is a great solution to get them connected quickly and seamlessly,” said the spokeswoman.

Devices that customers might want to wirelessly connect to the gateway include tablets, gaming consoles, smartphones and connected TVs, Comcast said.

Customers have the option of signing up for what Comcast called “their own personal IT help desk” via Xfinity Signature Support (CP: Comcast gets into fee-based home broadband service support), which includes a range of services for customers seeking tech support involving virus malware and spyware removal, computer tune-ups to improve speed, performance and security, and the like.