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Comcast Offering Home Security Bundle

Posted by samzenpus on from the we'll-protect-your-home-sometime-between-8am-and-noon dept.

vaporland writes "Bloomberg reports that media giant Comcast has begun offering home security bundles with cable or phone service in selected markets. From the article: 'The Philadelphia-based company is starting Xfinity Home Security in seven markets for $39.95 a month. It lets users remotely adjust lights and thermostats, watch cameras, and get e-mail or text alerts when doors and windows are opened and closed. Customers can watch live video of their homes on an Xfinity website or with an Apple Inc. iPad application.'"

21 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Convergance by Bananatree3 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Convergence: When your home automation, grid power, security, telephone, TV, internet and wireless companies are all owned by the same conglomerate

  2. Linking physical security to the Intertubes? by zonky · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What could possibily go wrong!

  3. Not just Comcast by JavadeHut · · Score: 2

    Rogers, Canada's largest telecom, also started offering a similar service a few weeks ago.

    1. Re:Not just Comcast by compro01 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Sasktel over here in Saskatchewan has offered this for years.

      --
      upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
  4. Uplinks by zigmeister · · Score: 2

    Well maybe they'll finally start providing some decent upstream bandwidth then. Who woulda thunk it.

    --
    Failure formatting five FAQs of financial facts.
    1. Re:Uplinks by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If this is anything like their quasi-VOIP offering a while back, they'll specifically run all their blessed-and-packaged stuff over a separate logical link(and no, the existence of that link on the same physical line in no way implies that we could remove it and offer better upstream bandwidth. Shut up, consumer, and watch some pay-per-view.) and call it a feature.

    2. Re:Uplinks by westlake · · Score: 2

      they'll specifically run all their blessed-and-packaged stuff over a separate logical link

      But isn't this what you want in a home security product?

    3. Re:Uplinks by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yes and no. Obviously, you don't want video feeds of your house going over the public internet in the clear; but(since part of the service does involve accessing them over the internet from an offsite location), Comcast already has to have a secure-over-public internet approach sorted out(presumably just TLS). Also, since Comcast is the one running the setup, it is presumably the case that the route taken over the public internet would just be a hop from you directly to them anyway(since Comcast is both the ISP, and thus the closest thing on the network, and the one operating the server side of this service). Unless they really were to fuck it up, which would likely imperil the storage, or login page, or video streaming capabilities, you wouldn't get usefully greater security.

      Since the two logical links(Comcast qua ISP, and whatever in-house Comcast services you are subscribed to) travel over the same line and assorted hardware, reliability is unlikely to be better over one than over the other, and having Comcast able to carve out swaths of untouchable bandwidth for its own services really just makes product bundling and squelching internet-based competitors easier and more tempting.

      For non-technical users, the partition probably does have the virtue of providing a crude form of QoS; but the overall market effect of it is hard to be optimistic about.

  5. Centralized Burglary Map by MBCook · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So now, someone can break into Comcast and easily see which houses have good stuff and don't have anyone at home. That must be very handy for thieves.

    As a customer, I already don't trust Comcast and think they cost too much. Why would I pay them $40 a month for this? Especially since it would take away from my internet bandwidth?

    --
    Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
  6. The real added value: by aix+tom · · Score: 5, Funny

    You get relevant targeted advertisements from consumer electronics companies right after you stereo gets stolen.

    1. Re:The real added value: by Seumas · · Score: 2

      Or you get an email from GoodVibrations that says "Hi, we noticed your bottle of lube is about to run out. Please click the instant-order button below, to be taken to our website and purchase a fresh bottle.!"

  7. added equipment like needed low on Sensors / keypa by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 4, Interesting

    http://www.comcast.com/homesecurity/iControlSMA/index.htm Only Window/Door Sensors (4) Motion Detector (1) Wireless Keypad (1) Keychain Remote (1) Touch Screen (1) Cellular and Battery Backup Included what will more Sensors cost $0.25 /m each? Motion Detectors at $2 /m? added keypad $5-$10 /m? added Keychain Remote $3 /m see how much they bill you rent the cable box + they also bill you to rent the remote as well. That cost can go up fast. Also is there a Cellular modem rent fee like how you have to rent the emta that is not part of listed price.

  8. get interactive by hercubus · · Score: 3, Funny
    • 1) find out which Comcast execs use their own service
    • 2) hack in with malice aforethought
    • 3) ???
    • 4) profit!

    Comcast Exec: [logs into service] hmm, why does my home thermostat read 666?

    --
    -- How I want a drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy lectures involving quantum mechanics.
  9. Oh yeah, "security" by The+O+Rly+Factor · · Score: 2

    Philadelphia Police: Sir, we caught this man trying to break into your house at approximately 1:30 this afternoon after receiving an urgent notification from Comcast.

    Homeowner: Who is he?

    Philadelphia Police: He claims he is from "Verizon" and that he was here to "install FiOS", whatever that means.

  10. My experience with it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    I have the service. Allow me to enlighten you as to what it is ( and isn't ).

    First, you MUST have a router feeding the house network. You need an available eth connection as well for the alarm head unit. The unit is NOT static IP configured, it's dhcp so it will be begging the router for an IP address. Force a static on it from the router and it will be thrilled. Head unit is listening on port 80 so you need to forward the port through the firewall to allow net access. Yeah every scan on Earth will see it so I suspect your router logs are gonna jump an order of magnitude or so. Hitting the unit asks for the install code ( 16 digit ) but I didn't test it past that.

    The whole system is wireless so the main unit needs to be centralized if possible so the sensors can talk to it. The install tech has to add the sensors to the head unit and you don't get to play in the config once they're done. Preferred package is four door / window sensors and one motion sensor. Additional sensors are horrendously expensive ( $170 for a motion sensor ?! ) but the system is General Electric based so you may be able to buy your own ( Z-Wave compatible ) but they will have to configure them in the head unit. Head unit also has a battery backup with a cellular system in the event of a power failure or loss of cable signal. Head unit is broadcasting it's own SSID and appears to be running with at least WPA.

    They fail to mention on their site that the customer is required to obtain an Alarm Operators Permit from your local municipality. Not expensive ($25 first year, $15 renewal) but necessary as the fine for the police showing up on an alarm call if you don't have one is expensive.

    Email and text messages for damn near anything can be configured. System arm / disarm, tamper switches trigger, individual triggers for every sensor, etc. Make sure you have a decent messaging plan.

    Remote monitoring, arm / disarm and system / sensor history are available once you log in using your info. Same for the IPhone app.

    They need to add a swivel bracket to the motion sensors for better placement options IMO. Three year contract. $200 install and $39.95 month. Qualifies for insurance discount. IS a monitored service. Seems to perform fairly well. No real complaints to speak of so far.

  11. It's about time by bhmit1 · · Score: 2

    Maybe now all the established security vendors will create a decent offering that works over IP, rather than plugging their old technology into a voip box. I wouldn't trust my home security to Comcast, but the established security vendors need to upgrade their products off of telephone modem technology badly.

    If you were on IP, a simple "ping" could be run periodically to make sure you haven't had your connection cut. And you can get more advanced, like viewing the status on a web page (we already have banking online, so this can be done right) or getting a feed of the audio and video during a break-in to give police a heads up if it's a likely false alarm or send pictures of the criminal so police know who to look for. The alerts would also be sent faster, and can be encrypted over IP, rather than waiting for the modem to dial out.

  12. Call me paranoid... by steppin_razor_LA · · Score: 2

    ... but the first I think of is the irony that Orwell had it wrong. The govt won't have to force people to install cameras into their homes, we will do it ourselves...

    --
    Evolution: love it or leave it
    1. Re:Call me paranoid... by twocows · · Score: 2

      Huxley had it right, though.

  13. Re:This just in: by Hylandr · · Score: 2

    RTFA FTW.

    I can already do all these things Comcast is trying to sell, and it didn't take much for the customers employee's to destroy it all and go back to robbing the employer blind.

    I can only imagine the fun consumers will have with this. Or the free tap Comcast may be giving the Govt...

    - Dan.

    --
    ~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
  14. A better product is.. by onceuponatime · · Score: 2

    We will be releasing a new product in two months time that will allow you to monitor your home before they break. You receive SMSes with links to video trigger from sensors outside of your house and then you can set off flood lights, alarms, send SMSes, E-mails, gateway to other systems of your own etc etc. It encodes the video to WebM (I expect it's the first security product to do that) so you can save the events and all this is under your own control, not an external company. It's highly configurable and you can take input from and control devices connected via X10 or via a generic digital I/O board (Phidgets).

    http://www.hydracontrolfreak.com/

    Note, the website is in pre-release state as we haven't released the product yet. We expect it to be released in about 2 2/12 months.

    Cheers,
    Kim

  15. Note to Self by logandr · · Score: 2

    Note to self: cut landline AND cable TV coax before breaking and entering