Comcast Offers Prepaid Month-to-Month Phone and Internet
April 24, 2024
The Comcast NOW suite of low-cost prepaid Wi-Fi and streaming TV service is gaining Internet and mobile products that consumers can purchase month-to-month. NOW Mobile proffers unlimited 5G data, talk and text, with access to more than 23 million Wi-Fi hotspots, for $25 per line. NOW Internet offers “more reliability than fixed wireless options” starting at $30 per month for 100 Mbps, or $45 per month for 200 Mbps. Each tier includes unlimited data and an Xfinity 5G gateway. The packages join NOW TV and NOW WiFi Pass in Comcast’s prepaid portfolio.
“Consumers have told us they want low-cost, easy-to-use connectivity and entertainment options that deliver the same reliability and consistency of our leading Xfinity services,” Comcast Connectivity and Platforms President and CEO Dave Watson said in an announcement that explains “NOW products are designed to be incredibly simple with all-in pricing, no contracts or credit checks,” with customers able to “sign up, pause, or cancel online, anytime.”
The Verge couches NOW Mobile as “a better deal than Xfinity’s current postpaid mobile plans, which include a $40 per month, per line unlimited plan or a ‘By-the-Gig’ plan at $20 per gigabyte, non-prorated, the latter of which gets pricy fast.”
When queried about potential data restrictions, a Comcast representative told The Verge there are “no caps for Internet. NOW Mobile speeds will be slowed during times of congestion after 20 GB.” NOW Mobile is built on Xfinity’s 5G network, which utilizes Verizon’s 5G infrastructure.
NOW Internet customers “will receive a self-installation kit that includes a Comcast gateway,” Fierce Network explains, noting that “the gateway must be plugged into an existing Comcast connection in their home, and if the home does not have a connection port, Comcast will roll a truck — at no cost — to install the connection.”
NOW Internet “is only available to people in Comcast’s footprint,” reports Fierce.
Comcast has long had a low-income Internet option, Internet Essentials, which provides 50 Mbps for $9.95 monthly, in accordance with the Biden Administration’s 2022 Affordable Connectivity Program, known as ACP.
Initial customer field trials for NOW Internet and Mobile have already begun in Hartford/New Haven, Houston and Miami, “with a full-scale national launch across all Comcast service areas expected in the coming weeks,” the company says.
NOW TV and WiFi Pass are currently available everywhere Comcast provides service. The individual NOW services are not bundled, so customers who sign up for multiple NOW service plans are charged separately for each.
CNBC reports that the move comes as “Comcast has been experiencing a lack of broadband growth over the past year, reporting net broadband losses in multiple quarters” in a wave of consumer cord-cutting.
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