Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has introduced its xFi Advanced Gateway, designed to support in-home gigabit speeds over WiFi. The DOCSIS 3.1 device uses 802.11ac Wave 2 WiFi technology, RDK-B firmware, and is available in every market where the company offers Xfinity Gigabit Internet.
Comcast developed the new gateway entirely in-house. Company spokesman David McGuire said: "Our team designed it from the ground up. We're working with vendors to provide the units, but it's entirely Comcast-developed, from the RDK-B firmware to industrial design."
Features include a 160 MHz-capable 8x8 antenna array, MU-MIMO technology, and Bluetooth LE, Zigbee and Thread radios. A WiFi mesh option is scheduled to become available later this month.
The new gateway comes packaged with xFi, Comcast's in-home WiFi control dashboard. xFi is designed to let customers to set up their home Wi-Fi network, find their password, see what devices are connected, troubleshoot issues, set parental controls and pause WiFi access.
The xFi Advanced Gateway is available for Comcast speed tiers from 300 Mbps and up depending on the market, including 1 Gbps, which is currently available in 26 Comcast markets.
In a company blog post, Fraser Stirling, Comcast's senior vice president of hardware development, wrote: "In our labs, we've actually tested WiFi speeds faster than 1.5 Gbps, and the xFi Advanced Gateway is capable of going even faster, as Internet speeds increase and WiFi devices become more powerful."
Similarly to Amazon's Alexa and Google's Assistant, the gateway is also designed to be aesthetically pleasing so that its wireless performance won't be hindered by the device being hidden away.
Ron Hendrickson | Contributing Editor
As BTR's managing editor, Ron keeps the editorial wheels from coming off. He gathers and posts daily news, interviews cable's movers and shakers, and generally keeps his finger on the pulse of the industry. He joined BTR in 2010 and got his start in cable in 1998.