Xfinity Home Eyes Broader Expansion, GM Says at CES
LAS VEGAS -- Comcast Xfinity Home was one of the few smart home companies at CES not bragging about Alexa integration -- promoting new voice control capability on its X1 remote control instead. That’s likely to change, Daniel Herscovici, general manager of Xfinity Home, told us. Xfinity has deployed over 10 million voice remotes at a clip of 800,000 per month, said Herscovici, so that homegrown technology, which offers a “great experience,” he said, isn’t going away anytime soon. “I’m open to it,” said Herscovici when asked about Alexa integration, “and I’m exploring the possibility.” Herscovici’s philosophy: “If a consumer has selected Google Home as their voice system, I shouldn’t force them to rip it out to use my system,” he said. “I want to meet the customer where they are, so I’m open to doing those integrations.” Terms have to be worked out, he said, but “I would be surprised if exiting 2017 we didn’t have those relationships established.”
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The Zen thermostat, positioned as a lower-cost option to the $249 Nest thermostat, which Xfinity Home also offers, is the first announced product in what will be a relaunch of Comcast’s EcoSaver product, said Herscovici. He called Zen Ecosystems a “strategic partner” and said Zen’s thermostats will be “on our technicians' trucks” and the thermostat “deeply integrates into our ecosystem.” For now, he said, the user experience is the same -- users will be able to change temperature -- but later on, users will be able to actively manage heating and air conditioning “while minimizing energy consumption.”
The cable operator has to consider product quality and the customer experience because “we’re committed to supporting these devices,” said Herscovici. Customers call the Xfinity Home support line if their Nest or Zen thermostat, Chamberlain garage door or Lutron light switch doesn’t work, a situation other smart home companies that don’t provide the gateway and broadband service don’t face, he said. The company is working with appliance makers on how connectivity fits into the smart home. “There’s a little bit of a solution looking for a problem there,” the GM conceded. “We’re looking for the best way to integrate there. You need to drive the connectivity down the value tier.”
Xfinity Home has wider goals beyond the Comcast footprint, and that includes signing on other telcos and even dealers in its own markets, said Herscovici. The provider agreed to acquire iControl and its platform last year (see 1606230073) and is awaiting government approval, which Herscovici expects to happen in the next 60 days or so. “Once that completes, we will support the existing providers” on the iControl platform, he said, including Cox, Charter and Rogers. But it doesn’t stop there. “We’re willing to deliver this platform to anyone -- any dealer and beyond telcos,” he said. “In some cases, we might be deploying it with people who are competing with Xfinity Home," he said. "We want to deploy this platform everywhere.”