Comcast Business lights up Wi-Fi for SMBs, enterprise branch locations

Comcast Business (NASDAQ: CMCSA) has begun offering its small to medium business (SMB) and enterprise branch office customers a Wi-Fi solution, playing into the growing BYOD (bring your own device) and Wi-Fi usage trends within businesses.

The new Wi-Fi Pro service includes a series of cloud-based controls, marketing tools and other advanced capabilities.

Given the security risks that Wi-Fi networks pose, Wi-Fi Pro offers business customers two commercial Wi-Fi networks -- a private network for employees and a guest network for visitors and patrons. The service also leverages the latest AC chipset to support the fastest Wi-Fi speeds and expanded range.

Being a managed service, Comcast Business takes the guesswork out of the business customer's hands by providing complementary installation of the necessary equipment and access points. Business customers can manage the service on a smart phone or tablet device via a mobile app or an online portal that give businesses various capabilities like on-demand activity reporting and network configuration controls to set schedules and allocate bandwidth.

In addition, SMBs and enterprise branch offices can use marketing tools such as custom splash or landing pages to help attract new customers and encourage repeat business.

Offering a managed Wi-Fi service makes sense for Comcast Business as it looks to retain and attract a larger base of business customers, particularly those that don't have the IT resources to deploy services themselves, but want to more mobility within their office space.

Recent studies conducted by Cisco and Tech Pro Research revealed that Wi-Fi and BYOD are two trends set for new growth inside businesses. Cisco said that Wi-Fi devices will power a majority of all Internet traffic by 2017, while Tech Pro Research found that 74 percent of businesses are using or are planning to use BYOD policies.

For more:
- see the release

Related articles:
Comcast, Charter try to disrupt AT&T, Verizon's hold on the business services market - Year in Review
Comcast pressures AT&T, Verizon business base with 20 customer wins
Comcast challenges AT&T, Verizon with multisite business division
Comcast Business rolls out fiber network to Chino, Calif.
Comcast Business extends 10G-scalable fiber to Chico, Calif. business park