Following up on a wireless collaboration announced last year, Comcast and Charter have teamed up on a 50-50 joint venture to develop and design unified backend systems for their respective wireless services.
Comcast’s Xfinity Mobile and Charter’s upcoming Spectrum Mobile will continue to be offered separately, including their relationships with device makers and all customer-facing activities. However, the two operators said they will work side by side to create an efficient and scalable platform and backend systems to power wireless-related customer sales and support, device logistics and warehousing, and billing.
The companies said the operating platform can serve as the systems interface for current and any future MVNO partners. Both Charter and Comcast wireless services are MVNOs powered by Verizon’s network.
The operating platform Comcast originally developed for Xfinity Mobile has been modified by Charter for its upcoming wireless service launch, slated for the summer, and elements of that system will be leveraged through the partnership.
Since Comcast already covered certain development costs for mobile-related platforms and technology, Charter will initially fund the initiative, which thereafter will be equally funded by both partners.
“Our new partnership will enable us to drive faster and more cost-effective mobile product and service enhancements and provide innovative and affordable mobile service to our customers. We are excited about the launch of Spectrum Mobile in the coming months,” said Danny Bowman, chief mobile officer for Charter, in a statement.
Comcast launched its Xfinity Mobile offering last year, and by the end of 2017 had activated 380,000 customer lines – a figure New Street Research firm predicts could soon jump to 2 million per year.
“We have built a best-in-class mobile platform for Xfinity Mobile that is resonating with customers,” said Sam Schwartz, chief business development officer for Comcast. “By collaborating with Charter, we will help drive operational and cost efficiencies for both companies.”
A four-person board of directors will oversee the joint venture, with two directors representing each company. Based in Philadelphia, the collaboration will use Comcast employees to help develop the platform on behalf of both Charter and Comcast.
