Xfinity Mobile has replaced its wireless phone plan lineup with two new plans, sharpening its pitch to existing and prospective internet customers who already use Xfinity Internet fiber and cable service. Mobile Select starts at $30 per line, while Mobile Plus costs $45 per line.
Mobile Select includes unlimited talk, text and 50GB of high-speed data, with video streaming at HD 720p and unlimited hotspot data that slows after 15GB. It replaces the Unlimited plan, which cost $40 and came with 30GB of high-speed data. Mobile Plus offers unlimited talk, text and high-speed data, 4K video streaming and hotspot data that slows after 50GB. It replaces the Premium Unlimited plan, which cost $50 per line before the new pricing went live.
The changes matter because Xfinity is using its internet base and Wi-Fi network to sell wireless service more aggressively, and the company says that most of its mobile customers are already on Wi-Fi 90% of the time. Fraser Stirling said the company has 23 million active Wi-Fi hotspots available for mobile connections, and he added that Xfinity focuses on a consistent experience across home and away from home.
Both plans include Global Travel Pass for use in more than 215 international locations and Wi-Fi PowerBoost, which can deliver speeds of up to 1Gbps when compatible phones connect to an Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspot. Xfinity said the new fixed per-line pricing removes the need for extra calculations when multiple lines are added at different rates, and it said a four-line Mobile Plus account would cost $180. Under the older Premium Unlimited plan, that same four-line account would have cost $140 based on pricing on Xfinity's website before the launch.
The higher-end plan also adds Lifetime Device Protection for phones, tablets and smartwatches against damage, loss and theft, including bring-your-own phones, plus anytime device upgrades without trade-ins. Xfinity also introduced a separate family plan for smartwatches and tablets at $35 a month, with support for up to 10 cellular-enabled devices and trade-ins of Wi-Fi-only devices toward comparable cellular models. Single-device activations normally cost $20 per tablet line and $10 per smartwatch line, while existing Xfinity Internet customers can try one line free for 12 months if they are considering a switch to Xfinity Mobile.
The launch also shows how tightly Xfinity is tying wireless to the rest of its services, much like its recent push around Xfinity com bundle offerings and network-based products. Kohposh Kuda said connectivity should be ubiquitous and that it should not matter what kind of device a customer has or whether that customer is inside or outside the home. For Xfinity, the next test is whether cheaper entry pricing and a broader set of perks can pull more of its internet users into mobile without forcing them to do the math themselves.
