A few weeks ago, I had the honor to attend the annual Xfinity Analyst Day event in Philadelphia located at both the Four Seasons Philadelphia hotel and the Comcast Technology Center. Thank you to Joel Shadle and team for inviting me and for the insanely wonderful hospitality. As we think about consumer needs and wants, the instant economy demands innovative customer experiences that cater to individual and contextual personalizations, and this is exactly what Comcast is doing with a suite of solutions, products, and services around broadband, WiFi access, Mobile services, and Content. I will share a few highlights of the day's activities below.

Dana Strong, President Xfinity Consumer Services, kicked off the event and shared a great summary of the Comcast/Xfinity innovation journey. Xfinity's primary focus is to push for differentiation around product innovation. It was clear throughout the event that Comcast is fully focused on positioning Xfinity Internet as its primary product; and counts around 26 million residential customers for the service as of Q219, compared to 22 million video customers and 1.4 million Xfinity Home customers. The trio of innovation areas include speed, coverage and control for broadband. Upcoming and new solutions include bringing Hulu to X1 customers in the first quarter of 2020, along with innovation around WiFi with Xfinity xFi Pods WiFi Extenders and a home suite that is fully integrated and searchable by voice with options for adding home security (#smarthome 1.4M home security customers), and innovation around the X1 cloud DVR and remote services. X1 is a platform of platforms with companies such as Cox, Shaw, Rogers all using it as the foundation for their video products.

In addition for homes today, it is all about speed as we are consuming more streaming video than ever. In fact Dana mentioned Xfinity customers used 6 billion video on demand hours along with 9 Billion voice commands in 2018 alone. Innovation is also an area being explored within Xfinity Mobile, where the company serves 1.6 Million mobile lines and is currently expanding LTE with their partnership with Verizon. Family Gig packs (Unlimited and By the Gig packs) or bundles allow payment plans and options to add in home monitoring for existing broadband customers. It is important to understand that only Xfinity Internet customer can get Xfinity Mobile services. 

A great amount of innovation is centralized around the entire entertainment experience, which requires robust broadband and tools that can be leveraged with voice automation and an open system with access to services such as Netflix, Xumo, Pluto, Amazon Music, iHeartMusic, Amazon Prime video, YouTube, and again Hulu coming in Q1. Customers can use voice search across the entire ecosystem, not just linear tv, while search results default to free/complimentary and displays where you left off and recommends based on your history.

This innovation around entertainment does not happen without a sound high-speed broadband experience. Tony Werner, President of Technology & Product at Comcast Cable, shared additional innovation details around its broadband and WiFi solutions. With 17 different speed upgrades over the course of 18 years and a strong portfolio of patents with 400 currently pending and 20 million WiFi hotspots, the company is well positioned to leverage these assets to a strong base of residential customers and drive business to the B2B market moving up market from a strong SMB base. A great stat was shared...there are currently 58M homes today that have access to 1Gbps broadband by Comcast today.

Other innovation details shared by Patti Loyack (VP of IP Services) and Rui Costa (VP of Product, Design and CX) include some of the following:

• Profile Setting on Internet (Set kid time limits, Pausing Internet Access)
• Device fingerprinting (personalization for devices connected on network...device prioritization is soon to come)
• Gig Plans - pay only for gigs you use, mix and match data plans
• Unique Mobile Options ("mix and match" "switch and serve")
  • Can Switch Plans in the Middle of the Month 
  • No line Fees (up to 5 lines)
  • Data Saver (On/Off capabilities)
  • Secure WiFi Connecting
  • $12/$30/$60 for 1GB/3GB/10GB shared options OR Unlimited for $45 a month
  • Support for Mobile provides text messaging options

Matt Zelesko, CTO of Comcast, also shared additional details about X1 and Xfinity Flex, a competing streaming solution with the likes of Amazon's Fire and Roku. Mr. Zelesko shared insights around product design philosophy and future plans to provide contextual and entertaining experiences. Interestingly, his team is leveraging artificial intelligence and algorithms such as machine vision for visual, audio/sound track innovation for sound, and closed captioning for text. A demo was shared to showcase new and innovative tools for the blind including voice automation of the remote control.

Lastly, I will wrap up by sharing more around innovation specific to customer experience (cX). Charlie Herrin, Chief Customer Experience Officer for Comcast Cable, shared additional details around making the customer experience their best product. He shared four main components to personalized automation (Xfinity Assistant) including IDENTITY, INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION, PROACTIVE 2-WAY DIALOG, and CLOSING THE LOOP. Both self-care and administration are areas where Mr. Herrin is building out services and solutions.

Some highlights include:

• Using AI and federated data models to learn from the customer
• Color Coded truck roll and dispatching service
• Knowledge Engineering for use case review and better dialoging
• Pushing the App for things like Installation, Agent Chat, and more (Simplicity)
• Technician visuals and future AR tools for simulation (Tech tools)

These short-list (many others taking place) of improvements have brought about tens of thousands of predictive recommendations produced via IVR for better servicing customers and reduction of calls into the call center, along with billions data elements captured daily. Many customer issues have been contained in the Xfinity Assistant, which has reduced agent handled chats substantially. This customer-first and simplicity approach is sure to enhance the overall customer experience and drive retention for residential clients.

This summary does not include all the interactions and sessions attended, but provides a great review of things to come and the innovation in process and coming down the pipeline. It was clear throughout the event that Comcast is fully focused on positioning Xfinity Internet as its primary product; and counts around 26 million residential customers for the service as of Q219, compared to 22 million video customers and 1.4 million Xfinity Home customers. As part of this analyst day, we were also treated to product demos, Comcast Technology Center Tour, the Universal Sphere experience, and a great networking reception and dinner with showcase labs and interactions with executives. Thank you again to Comcast and the Xfinity team of executives and team who prepared and put this event together. I look forward to witnessing continued innovation and enhancements across the Xfinity portfolio.

Written by: Stephanie Atkinson, CEO of Compass Intelligence

 

By Stephanie Atkinson, CEO CompassIntel/Chair IoT6
www.5gamericas.org | @5GAmericas

Last week was the annual 5G Americas annual Analyst Forum held in Dallas, Texas. The event was kicked off by the Chairman and CTO of T-Mobile US, Neville Ray (@NevilleRay). Just a few highlights to start off with regarding Neville's keynote, which clearly showcased the global and nationwide competitive angle 5G is being championed for and towards (also heard at MWCA in LA). 

• 5G revolves around 3 primary pillars: Enhanced Mobile Broadband (MBB or eMBB), Massive Internet of Things (IoT), and Low Latency Critical Communications (ultra-reliable) per Ray
• 5G Use Cases: High Def video, AR/VR, Fixed Wireless, Asset/Fleet Tracking and Monitoring, Alerting, Connected and Autonomous Vehicle, Factory/Remote Operations, eHealth and other automation applications
• 5G requires spectrum across all bands - low band (Massive IoT), mid-band, and mmWave (millimeter wave-spectrum between 30 gigahertz (Ghz) and 300 Ghz)
• 5G Carrier (T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint) strategies and approaches vary (see depiction below)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND 5G
One of the first sessions I sat in on was focused around the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to 5G and future growth in IoT. Ericsson is utilizing AI tools and software to improve their radio access network (RAN) specific to configuration and optimization, while Samsung mentioned heavily investing (see Softbank news on AI investments) in AI at the cloud level to support in new customer experiences (cX) and improve video content services (noted example of having video content follow users). Cisco's perspective was a bit different as they are looking at AI to support in new learning algorithms (inference and information theory) around operations, as well as using AI tools and software for social impact initiatives. Lastly, Sprint mentioned leveraging AI to improve data quality, enhance machine learning tools, generating automatic code, and simplifying for categorization (think automated text categorization, read more here). Sprint also mentioned there may be a challenge with the human input and training is an issue.

5G AND ENTERPRISE IoT
On the low band, 5G is expected to support in scaling massive IoT, specific to low latency connected and sensor solutions, specific to industrial, infrastructure, operations, and even smart cities. The use cases revolve around asset tracking and monitoring, fleet tracking and monitoring, some transportation and container tracking, and applications specific to agriculture, factory automation/manufacturing (mass production), and others.

DEVICE ECOSYSTEM
Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) has been a focus for companies like AT&T, as they made announcements this year. As shown earlier, the carriers all have different approaches to device roll-out, yet 5G smartphones is not expected until mid-2019. On another note, there are some upcoming changes to 5G devices and antenna placement. Devices may have 3 to 4 mmWave antennas as part of 5G enhancements, and this will help to manage hand cover up issues from a user experience perspective. Qualcomm mentioned that some devices still have 2G, and that the OEMs they work with are choosing what bands to include in the devices. The 3G to 4G shift was more concentrated around power management, while that will not be as much of an issue for the shift from 4G to 5G. New RF modules will be an area of focus for 5G devices. This session had participants from Qualcomm, Samsung, and Sprint.

5G, MORE USE CASES
Focusing beyond MBB, the industry participants mentioned we need to look above and beyond broadband and smartphone devices. Sprint is focused around the mid-band, so 5G smartphones is key to their 5G strategy. Sprint is currently looking at the partnership model for 5G use cases. The foundational use cases are centered around mobility and fixed wireless. Many are in the exploratory stage from an ecosystem perspective and are seeking support from partners, research analysts, advisors, and customers. Carriers will be seeking use cases to better monetize traffic, as current smartphone revenues and the growth trajectory remains fairly stable or flat. Consumer is behind overall, and Enterprise is leading in 5G use cases at this time. Smart cities is an area to explore as well, and CityBrain (by Alibaba) was mentioned as a good use case to explore in terms of true ROI.

MY TWO CENTS

• 5G being used as a case for the Sprint/T-Mobile merger approval
• 5G global competition is fierce, but China is expected to win...this does not mean we stop competing, but it may mean we stop thinking global competition and we focus on city/local competition
• 5G is being used by cities as a competitive and economic differentiator, so core use cases and applications may be an opportunity for cities/communities and civic applications
• 5G is coming fast, but let's focus on LTE progress as customers are expecting good connectivity experiences today
• 5G Americas is succeeding in bringing the industry together to advance 5G and future revenue plans

Related 5G Research and Reports:
5G Optimization: Mobile Edge Computing and Network Slicing 2018 – 2023
Voice over 5G (Vo5G) Market 
5G Security Market: Technologies, Solutions, and Market Outlook 2018 - 2023

A few weeks back, we discussed where we are today with the two waves of "The Connected Vehicle." 1st we focused on bringing WiFi and 4G/LTE to the vehicle. Now let's jump into the power of the Autonomous Vehicle, the 2nd wave.

According to Techopedia, the definition of Autonomous Vehicles is, "An autonomous car is a vehicle that can guide itself without human conduction. This kind of vehicle has become a concrete reality and may pave the way for future systems where computers take over the art of driving. An autonomous car is also known as a driverless car, robot car, self-driving car or autonomous vehicle."

For many out there, these concepts are so far out there that is is challenging to understand what this means to both us as consumers, as well as industry and businesses. Let's call the market AV for short, since we will be discussing scenarios throughout this blog. The AV market has the chance to disrupt industries in the transportation marketplace, as well as disrupt the way goods and services get transported and delivered throughout the world. Before we get too technical, lets focus on what this really means to us as consumers, consumers who drive our vehicles every day to work, school, leisure places, and events.

Below are some real-world scenarios on how AV will impact the consumer, imagine this...

• Scheduling your planned driving at the beginning of the week (work, taking kids to school, taking kids to sports activities, medical appointments, etc.) - knowing your fuel and mileage up front
• Riding alongside your kids on the way to school, working on homework, reviewing projects and activities for the day, and getting one-on-one time with your children and even spouse (if you carpool)
• Becoming productive in vehicles for work, watching the news while drinking your coffee, listening to a podcast or work-related video, getting an early start to your day with work calls or phone meetings or even video conference calls
• Feeling safe and secure, knowing the traffic ahead is something your vehicle is already aware of and is rerouting your normal commute to the school and office in a more efficient and safe route
• Listening to your vehicle provide you options to the closest donut or coffee shop, and verbally telling your vehicle your choice, your vehicle then drives you to that location (Imaging Alexa and Siri combined with your car)
• On a long road trip, your car knows the weather and road conditions on your route, and makes intelligent decisions to route your trip for the optimum safety and safest roads
• Your college kid, after a night on the town (think party and alcohol), is safety driven to his or her home and you can visibly see that he/she safely arrived to his/her college dorm through an alert

These are just basic scenarios, but the power of convenience and time is what AV will do for you as a consumer. Now let's explore business or industry impacts. Imagine this...

• Shipping, logistics, and transport becomes fully automated through scheduling, loading, and delivery
• The common man-made errors, mistakes, and risks go away...think driver fatigue, under the influence drivers, texting and driving drivers
• Smart routing is the norm, meaning your goods and services being delivered are routed as smart as can be around traffic and around bad weather
• Your crew of delivery drivers now have time for other important tasks like business meetings, logistics management, data entry or scanning, and much more
• Taxis, Uber-like Services, and ride-share have whole new meaning and the power of concierge and personal services are now even more enhanced because drivers are not "stuck" to the wheel (Think luxury and spa like services for business travelers)
• Commuter services transition as well, commuter-based AV become the norm and again personal and luxe services provide for convenience, personal touch, and catering to the customer

Again, for the business world this definitely changes the way we look at delivery, transportation, and logistics, but it also throws a wrench into traditional commuter and transport services. The industry needs to look at this from an opportunity stand-point and not focus on businesses, jobs, and services that become obsolete. Personal and customized services become the huge opportunity here. What are your thoughts? How could this impact your business or your personal life?

Recent Related News on AV:

• Navigating the Future of Electric and Autonomous Vehicles
• General Motors turns its back on long history in Europe
  
• AAA survey shows most people fearful of autonomous vehicles
• ​Toyota unveils its new crazy-looking autonomous vehicle platform
• Autonomous vehicle bill advances in House Committee

For further reading, please check out the related blog regarding the 1st wave of The Connected Vehicle.
For more information, please visit our RESEARCH page to explore other technologies and market indicators.

Written by Stephanie Atkinson, CEO of Compass Intelligence, LLC