Comcast Acquires Icontrol To Improve Its Xfinity Home System

Comcast Corporation recently announced that it has concluded the acquirement of Austin-based Icontrol Networks Inc. The acquisition is specifically focused on Icontrol Converge, the business arm of the company that is responsible for the creation of Internet of Things technologies.

This effort by Comcast, which is one of the best internet providers in the US, has brought forward major advancements in its home security system for the customers. Icontrol’s Converge platform already powers the Xfinity Home security system, and the acquisition will bring together the shared knowledge and expertise of the two companies for the betterment of home security systems.

Daniel Herscovici, Senior Vice President at Comcast stated that this new acquirement of Icontrol would provide the company total control over the research and development process. Due to the owning of Icontrol, this will be a key factor in speeding up the developmental pace of Xfinity Home system, specifically in the area of connected home security.

In addition, this acquisition will enable the company to establish an “IoT Center of Excellence” in Austin, Texas, the base of Icontrol’s operation. This will facilitate setting up of a core where engineers and developers from all across the country can collaborate on various aspects.

“This will be a key hub where our engineers and developers will design innovations to support our various IoT businesses,” Herscovici said. “There are many local, talented engineers in Austin and we are excited to welcome them to Comcast.”

First announced in June last year, the acquisition will open up the wholesale line of business for Xfinity Home with the addition of many domestic and international customers. It will result in the continuation of the services that the platform powers for security and best internet service to many leading multiple system operators of Icontrol in countries like Australia, Canada, and Japan.

Comcast has also added the Wi-Fi enabled xCam feature to its smart home platform as a means to offering the customers the benefits of an Internet of Things platform. Voice control features also came along with this, which enables the customers to view the feeds from the camera directly on television using the X1 voice remote.

This new announcement by Comcast came as a measure of expanding the business in the smart home market. This is particularly reflected in the company’s last year’s increase of more than 500,000 subscribers to the Xfinity Home system.