You may trust Comcast to provide you with your television, phone and internet, but would you trust the company to keep your house safe? After a trial in Houston last year, Comcast will announce today that it plans to expand its Xfinity Home Security service to six additional cities throughout the U.S., offering customers not only piece of mind, but the chance to turn thermostats and lights on and off remotely, as well.
The Xfinity Home Security service will cost around $40 monthly, although customers will have to sign up for a three-year contract and agree to a steep $1,100 early cancellation fee.
For that, they’ll get 24-hour monitoring with police and fire alarm protection, as well as the ability to monitor their homes online using an iPad/iPhone app that, amongst other things, allows customers to spy on their house using webcams installed optionally as part of the service—something that, I’m sure, would never be abused by hackers or even just paranoid homeowners.
Subscribers will also get a special tablet-like touchscreen control device (shown above) for use inside the home that “not only allows for the service to be managed, but it also includes widgets to get the latest weather, news, traffic, and sports scores,” according to CNET.
The system is being seen by Comcast as a way of expanding its business into a whole new vertical, not only converting existing security customers from their current security providers but also bringing its existing 22.6 million subscribers on board as new security customers. In the Houston trial, 50% of its customers had never had home security before.
The Xfinity Home Security service will be launching shortly in Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon; Sarasota, Jacksonville and Naples, Florida; and Chattanooga and Nashville, Tennessee.