AI, although not new, has recently gained immense popularity. It has proven to be an especially powerful tool for companies seeking to improve the customer experience. For example, by analyzing consumer purchasing patterns, businesses can identify opportunities to enhance online shopping. The implementation of natural language processing (NLP) technology can help eliminate cultural and language barriers, leading to improved communication and engagement. These are just a few of the benefits AI offers.
Comcast, one of the largest providers of video, high-speed internet and phone service in the United States, is as a leader in using AI and machine learning throughout its business to provide network insights and improve the customer experience, according to Rachel Solomon, Comcast senior vice president, technical operations and engineering.
“Using technology developed by our engineers, Comcast is able to optimize its network performance and proactively identify and, in some cases, repair network impairments that impact customers’ services,” she said.
Solomon recently shared an inside view of Comcast’s new developments in AI and other technology trends business leaders should watch in 2024.
Improving the customer experience with better and more actionable intelligence
A great example of AI used in Comcast’s network is Octave, an AI-based platform developed by the company’s engineers. It checks 4,000-plus data points every 20 minutes, including external network “noise,” power levels and other technical issues that can impact the performance on tens of millions of modems across the network.
“At the onset of Covid-19, this technology helped deliver a 36% increase in capacity at the time customers needed more bandwidth for working, streaming and videoconferencing,” Solomon said.
The company recently announced a joint effort with Broadcom to develop the world’s first AI-powered access network with a new chipset that embeds AI and machine learning within the nodes, amps and modems that comprise the last few miles of Comcast’s network.
“With these new capabilities broadly deployed throughout the network, Comcast will be able to transform its operations by automating more network functions and deliver an improved customer experience through better and more actionable intelligence,” Solomon said.
The future of streaming
“Americans crave at-home entertainment more than ever before with streaming and gaming soaring to new heights,” Solomon said. In 2022, Comcast customers connected more than 1 billion devices across its network.
Solomon pointed out that people and businesses will consume more data going forward, citing these points:
- More than a billion devices in Comcast homes connect every year, representing a 12-times increase in five years.
- There are an average of 27 connected devices per home.
- Internet-only customers use 700 gigabytes of data per month; wireless comprises about 17 gigabytes.
- Roughly 90% of Xfinity Mobile data is over Wi-Fi, not cellular.
Broadband also is reinventing itself to support more live, interactive, and immersive applications, according to Solomon, who shared these examples:
- Video is transitioning to streaming live content and it is starting with sports.
- National Football League programming on Amazon accounts for a quarter of internet traffic on Thursdays.
- YouTube has the NFL Sunday Ticket.
- Peacock has Big 10 football and the NFL’s Sunday Night Football package. It also has rights to the 2024 Summer Olympics.
- Content is no longer just cached in a server; it’s live and in 4K. That fundamentally changes the way broadband networks must be architected.
“We’re investing and constantly innovating to deliver the next live streaming experience,” Solomon said. “Comcast has invested $20 billion in these efforts since 2019. That has helped the company achieve 99.9% network reliability.” Comcast also is rolling out multi-gig speeds with millions of customers already enabled for this service.
Trials are underway with Apple, NVIDIA and Valve for responsive low latency DOCSIS (data over cable service interface specification), which is the standard that allows high-bandwidth data to transfer to cable TV systems. According to Comcast, this emerging technology is a key component of the Xfinity 10G network, with the potential to transform interactive applications and create new consumer use cases.
Solomon talked about many other ways Comcast is innovating to meet customer demands, from being the first internet service provider to create a back-up connectivity solution for when the power goes out with “Storm-Ready Wi-Fi” to deploying industry-leading DOCSIS 4.0 technology throughout the country. Solomon said this technology enables customers to experience fully symmetrical multi-gigabit speed and ensures lower latency and lag time for downloading and uploading content over the internet — all using existing connections in the home.
“That means we don’t have to tear up yards to deliver these new speeds,” Solomon said. “For gamers, this is particularly important. Without delays, gamers can compete with confidence.”
How Comcast is staying ahead of customer demands
For years, Comcast has made strategic investments in building capacity to meet its customers’ current needs and stay well ahead of future demand.
A critical part of this has been Comcast’s architecture, which has enabled the speed increases that have been launched to more than 55 markets and over 15 million homes and businesses since October 2022, as well as better reliability, latency and security, Solomon said.
The company also has been upgrading the hardware and software across its network to create a fully virtualized and digital network that can self-configure, self-heal and self-manage.
With these technologies, Comcast is replacing analog network devices — which could only be updated one-at-a-time by hand — with smart, virtual technologies that can be used to troubleshoot, update and upgrade customers’ connected experiences virtually with just a few keystrokes on a laptop or mobile app.
As connectivity is critical to people’s lives, Comcast has built a network combining gig speeds with wall-to-wall Wi-Fi coverage in the home, and more than 23 million outdoor hotspots to provide the technology people desire wherever they go, Solomon said. “Customers need a reliable, uninterrupted internet. Even if their homes lose power, they still want internet access that offers speed, coverage and control.”
Learn more about Comcast’s Xfinity 10G network expansion efforts in New Mexico.
Laura Newpoff is a freelance writer with The Business Journals Content Studio.
