Comcast is turning your home routers into public Wi-Fi hotspots

We had Comcast recently for a very short while. It was AWFUL in so many ways. We have the luxury of being able to choose between Verizon FIOS and Comcast. Verizon service was fantastic but their pricing was out of sight. We quit Verizon for Comcast. I think it lasted maybe 60 to 90 days before I realized that, although less expensive, it was simply horrible in so many ways. I got a "please come back letter" from Verizon, and a week later another one. They offered a better rate than I had been paying them before, and in fact, their monthly package, including 50 MB/S download and 25 MB/S upload and cable TV (Prime) came in $34 per month cheaper than Comcast! It was an easy decision to switch back to Verizon FIOS where we once again are experiencing true high speed internet. As a part of my negotiating with Verizon, they waived all of those nonsensical installation fees, the ones the like to spread over 3 months to make them seem smaller!

 It took me about 5 seconds after Comcast installed to realize what they were doing with MY router. I fixed that quick.

Here is the story as found today on bgr.com:

"Comcast has a brand new feature for its Internet subscribers called Xfinity Wi-Fi, but it’s going about it the wrong way, likely making even more enemies in the process. SeattlePi reports that Comcast is turning some of the Wi-Fi routers placed in the homes of subscribers into a “massive public Wi-Fi hotspot network,” but it’s doing so without giving customers the opportunity to opt out before the service is rolled out.

In theory, Xfinity Wi-Fi sounds like a neat idea, as it can provide free Internet access to other Xfinity subscribers as long as they’re within reach of such an Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspot. Moreover, the extra load on the router does not affect the bandwidth of the customer who houses it, as the device creates two independent networks, one private, and one public, using additional bandwidth for the public one.

As such, any users on the public Xfinity Wi-Fi network will not slow down customers’ connections, according to the company.

Comcast apparently informed its subscribers about the move in the mail a few weeks ago, and then email notifications go out after the service is turned on for each user. The company on Tuesday turned 50,000 Comcast Internet customers into public Wi-Fi providers in Houston, with 100,000 more hotspots to be activated by the end of June.

Users only have the opportunity to disable the service after it’s activated. A Comcast FAQ section further details Xfinity Wi-Fi, while the following guide, as listed by SeattlePi, should help Comcast customers disable the new Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspot feature:

• Log into your Comcast account page at customer.comcast.com.
• Click on Users & Preferences.
• Look for a heading on the page for “Service Address.” Below your address, click the link that reads “Manage Xfinity WiFi.”
• Click the button for “Disable Xfinity Wifi Home Hotspot.”
• Click Save"