Ilan Eframian recently joined Comcast as VP of its Xfinity Communities division, a move that he told SDxCentral provided something he did not have with similar roles at Google Fiber and Verizon: “a single word: scale.”

“Comcast is just so big,” Eframian told SDxCentral. “I didn't really appreciate how big it was until I joined. Verizon is not a tiny company. Google's obviously a big company but Google Fiber is very small. Xfinity is the largest provider of gigabit broadband in the U.S. … When that opportunity came up for me it was pretty easy.”

Xfinity Communities is Comcast’s division that focuses on providing broadband and cable television connectivity to multifamily properties, campus locations, apartments and mixed-use developments. Xfinity Communities currently serves approximately 200,000 properties and 15 million units.

Eframian said that Xfinity Communities is the gateway for approximately one-third of Comcast’s total broadband connection base.

“As we talk about [business-to-business] and [business-to-consumer], a lot of the Xfinity Communities’ employees work locally with properties to ensure services are great for the residents in the buildings, but also from a b2b point of view we work with owners from the biggest like the J.P. Morgan's all the way down to the mom-and-pop’s that have a few properties," Eframian explained.

That base relies increasingly on the operator’s “10G” service that combines its fiber for long-haul connectivity; fiber and coaxial for the “last mile” of connectivity; and then fiber, coaxial or Wi-Fi assets for the end-user access point. Comcast’s 10G service refers to the network’s ability to provide symmetrical 10 Gb/s speeds. This is based on the DOCSIS 4.0 technology standard, which Comcast started working to deploy several years ago.

“There's various technologies … and it often depends on what's the best fit for the property,” Eframian said. “In a new development [this is] determined in a consultative style with the developer before the property is built. For existing buildings, typically there's existing coax there so now it's talking about what can we do with that. Oftentimes we'll be able to do an instant-on type service where we'll bring the gateways into the building, have them there so that … it's ready to go. And the gateways, they just keep innovating and innovating on these things.”

Wi-Fi remains a large area of wireless connectivity focus for Xfinity based on its extensive history in offering in-home and in-building Wi-Fi routers and service. This also expands through public Wi-Fi hot spots that customers can access when outside of their home locations.

Comcast also has a growing 5G cellular footprint that taps into its deep spectrum holdings. The cable giant last year signed a deal with Samsung to start deploying cellular-specific 5G equipment that will allow Comcast’s Mobile service to extend its reach beyond its current mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) arrangement with Verizon.

Comcast claims its current licensed spectrum holdings cover around 80% of the homes with access to its wired cable product and 50% of the U.S. population.

Eframian said his division remains more focused on wired connectivity options, but that alternative methods can help in some situations.

“I am personally very excited for any technology advancement because it's for the greater good,” Eframian said. “I will also say, and this is from my master’s degree in information and communication sciences, that a wired connection will always be better than a wireless connection. … You want that wireless to be as close to your home as possible. They're great things with some of the satellite stuff off the grid, it's great and serving more people is the best. But I think from our point of view, if we can bring our network as close to as many people as possible, that'll be the best end result for our customers.”

Looking ahead, Eframian noted his team is focused on growing its managed Wi-Fi operations, tapping into the growing desire by property owners to connect their buildings. He said this will help those building owners better unify what is an increasingly complicated connection universe of smart devices.

“Each of these things can use their own proprietary hub, or you can use Wi-Fi. You can have 16 different hubs or Wi-Fi, and Wi Fi solves all those problems,” Eframian said of the simplicity a managed Wi-Fi offering can bring. “With managed Wi-Fi and some of the stuff that we're working on – it's not quite out yet – but it will help give a managed Wi-Fi type experience. … That’s a yes, and. We're providing the needs for the residents, yes; we're providing the needs for the property staff; and now we're providing for the needs of little devices that most people hopefully never see and never think about.”