- Comcast (CMCSA +0.9%) kicked off Goldman Sachs' Communacopia conference with a presentation heavy on new tech for customers.
- That included the company's new X1 set-top with a more integrated voice control and a shared interface with Netflix. But CEO Brian Roberts also highlighted "the best cable box we've ever made" -- the XI5, a smaller, Wi-Fi based unit with 4K/HDR support, meant initially for extra home TVs but likely headed toward becoming the main unit.
- Meanwhile, Roberts says the company will launch its wireless MVNO service, likely a Wi-Fi/Verizon integrated combination, by the middle of next year -- "maybe a little sooner," but not at the beginning of the year.
- Comcast had set plans last fall to take advantage of a 2012 deal that sold spectrum to Verizon, which allowed Comcast to (eventually) re-sell Verizon wireless service.
- “We believe there will be a big payback, with reduced churn, more stickiness and greater customer satisfaction,” Roberts said. “We’ve seen how with X1, the whole momentum of the company has been lifted, and we hope to do it again."
- The Comcast Mobile unit has about 150 employees now and the company promoted Greg Butz to oversee it over the summer.