Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) said it will begin offering professional installation services for the third-party devices that are beginning to populate its Xfinity Home home-automation and security service.
Last week, Comcast enabled Xfinity Home customers to use the iOS and/or Android Xfinity app to control August Smart Lock devices, Chamberlain MyQ garage door controllers, Lutron Caseta wireless light controllers and dimmers and Nest Learning thermostats. The partnerships with these third-part vendors were announced in May, at the INTX trade event in Chicago.
Speaking to FierceInstaller, Dan Herscovici, senior VP and GM of Xfinity Home, said all of these products currently require self-installation. He added that, "in the coming months," Comcast will provide its customers the option of professional installation for Xfinity Home products just as it does for video, Internet and phone service.
"These devices are self-install right now, but we'll be offering another layer of support for customers," Herscovici said. Comcast, he added, is already offering telephone support for third-party device
Comcast hasn't broken out customer figures for its three-year old home automation business for quite some time. As of the end of the third quarter of 2013, it had just over 500,000 customers.
Herscovici said Comcast has been developing a software development kit that simplifies the integration of third-party vendors. This work includes the creation of a testing and certification program. Smart devices that are certified will be branded at retail with the "Works with Xfinity Home" moniker.
"Our engineers in Philadelphia have not only test to make sure the integration was done right, but we're also testing to make sure that what we're bringing in is a great door lock or lighting control solution. We're looking for best-in-class partners," Herscovici said.
Also, Comcast said it plans to expand control of its Xfinity Home platform to its X1 video platform, and associated voice-control features.
Other third-party integrations for Xfinity Home are on the way. Also announced at INTX were partnerships with Rachio (maker of irrigation control systems), Cuff (wearables), Automatic Labs (car adapters), Whistle (pet monitors) and SkyBell (video surveillance and doorbells).
For more:
- read this Comcast blog post
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