The Comcast xFi Advanced Gateway is now officially available nationwide to all xFinity broadband markets, aiming to enable Gigabit speeds over Wi-Fi.
The largest U.S. internet provider announced the xFi Advanced Gateway back in May, promising to reinvent the Wi-Fi experience and deliver faster speeds, greater control and management, and easier customization. The company promised amazing Wi-Fi and simplicity, and now it's ready to deliver.
Comcast xFi Advanced Gateway Release
Back in May, upon announcing the xFi Advanced Gateway, Comcast's Chief Product Officer, Chris Satchell, highlighted that the world is now more connected than ever. Smartphones, smart gadgets, smart appliances, and all sorts of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices have been readily available everywhere, but Wi-Fi has been lagging. Satchell noted that this needs to get smarter and better as well. That's where Xfinity xFi comes into place.
In a new corporate blog post announcing the market release of the xFi Advanced Gateway, Comcast's Fraser Sterling, SVP of Hardware Development, says that great Wi-Fi is essential to today's digital experience.
When it started designing the xFi Advanced Gateway, Comcast aimed to build the smartest, fastest, and most powerful Wi-Fi device ever, according to Sterling. That device, the xFi Advanced Gateway, is now available in every market where Comcast's Xfinity Gigabit Internet is available, and it aims to support gigabit speeds Wi-Fi.
Gigabit Internet Over Wi-Fi
While the Comcast xFi Advanced Gateway is designed to push Wi-Fi to reach Gigabit speeds, that won't happen just yet. For now, no Wi-Fi connected devices currently available on the market can achieve Gigabit speeds over Wi-Fi.
So, the xFi Advanced Gateway is just laying the groundwork at this point. More capable devices will hit the market in the future and will maximize the potential of the xFi Advanced Gateway, but we're not there yet. Until then, the xFi Advanced Gateway will make the most of the connected home.
In lab tests, the xFi Advanced Gateway managed to achieve whopping Wi-Fi speeds faster than 1.5 Gbps and could go even faster, as Wi-Fi devices become more powerful and Internet speeds increase. The xFi Advanced Gateway boasts advanced Wi-Fi technology including an 8x8 antenna array capable of 160 MHz, Multi-user, Multi-input, and Multi-output (Mu-MiMo) technology, and a set of dedicated radios for IoT.
Comcast xFi Advanced Gateway: Power And Simplicity
With the xFi Advanced Gateway, Comcast also wanted to simplify everything so that even less tech-savvy users would be able to work their way around setting up the home Wi-Fi network, troubleshooting various issues, finding their password, seeing what devices are on the network, and setting parental controls.
While setting up a router can be tricky in many cases, all it takes to set up an xFi Advanced Gateway is to plug the device in, scan a QR code with the xFi app, and go through simple steps that appear as prompts on the screen. From there, users will have more control than ever over their Wi-Fi network.
Customers will even be able to set individual profiles for each member of the household, assign devices, and control which devices can connect to the network and at what times. For instance, kids could only be allowed on the network until 9 p.m.
Comcast's xFi service has reached more than 10 million homes since its launch in May and it's available for free to all Xfinity Internet customers with an xFi Advanced Gateway or compatible xFi Wireless Gateway.
The xFi Advanced Gateway also looks sleek and modern, which allows it blend in any environment without standing out like traditional routers often do.
The Comcast xFi Advanced Gateway is now available for the company's fastest speed tiers of at least 300 Mbps and up to 1 Gigabit, depending on the market.
