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Your Kids Will Probably Hate Comcast Digital Home

Comcast customers will be able to restrict access to the network for certain devices, like no Wi-Fi during dinner.

By Stephanie Mlot
January 4, 2017
Comcast Xfinity Digital Home

Are your kids spending too much time on their smartphones, responding to snaps during dinner and video chatting when they should be doing homework? Comcast's new cloud-based "Digital Home" offering could help.

CES 2017 Bug The feature will bundle network controls into the ISP's wireless gateways, which combine a Wi-Fi router, DOCSIS 3.0 cable, and voice modem in a single device. When rolled out, Comcast customers will be able to restrict access to the network for certain devices—no Internet access on your daughter's tablet after 8 p.m., for example, or a Wi-Fi blackout for everyone during dinner.

You can also add smart home and other devices to the network and pair Wi-Fi extenders so Internet access reaches the far corners of your house.

"Digital Home connectivity today should be as intuitive and dynamic as the devices and experiences it powers," Chris Satchell, executive vice president and chief product officer of Comcast Cable, said in a statement. "People want to connect and control the products and devices in their home, quickly and easily."

Control Digital Home via an app, on the Web, or the X1 remote. Use that remote for a quick voice check on the network—just say "who is on the network?" into the remote, and a list of all connected devices in the house will appear on your TV screen.

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Digital Home will roll out to approximately 10 million Xfinity Internet customers in the first half of the year. By year's end, it could reach 15 million, Comcast says, as it rolls out a new Advanced Wireless Gateway, which promises up to 9 gigabits per second over Wi-Fi within the home.

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About Stephanie Mlot

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Stephanie Mlot

B.A. in Journalism & Public Relations with minor in Communications Media from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP)

Reporter at The Frederick News-Post (2008-2012)

Reporter for PCMag and Geek.com (RIP) (2012-present)

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