Comcast and Charter Communications announced its 50-50 partnership to develop back-end software to support services for their respective Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile services.
The strategy of Comcast and Charter is to lower costs and power both companies’ mobile-related customer sales and support platforms, device logistics and billing.
Charter and Comcast will cost-effectively develop a software platform, and related backend systems.
The new mobile platform will power each company’s mobile-related customer sales and support platforms, device logistics and warehousing, and billing. Comcast and Charter can also sell the operating platform that will serve as the systems interface for current and any future MVNO partners.
Danny Bowman, chief mobile officer for Charter, said: “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 have built a mobile platform for Xfinity Mobile that is resonating with customers,” said Sam Schwartz, chief business development officer at Comcast.
The partnership will leverage elements of the operating platform that Comcast developed for Xfinity Mobile, which Charter has modified for its upcoming mobile product and service platform launch.
Charter said it will initially fund the joint venture to reflect certain development costs that Comcast has already made in mobile-related platforms and technology. Thereafter, the partners will equally fund the operations of the partnership. The financial details were not disclosed.
Comcast and Charter will maintain their own relationships with device manufacturers. Charter and Comcast will individually handle all customer-facing activities including customer service, marketing, sales, pricing and packaging.
A four-person board of directors, with two directors representing each of Comcast and Charter, will govern the partnership. The partnership will be based in Philadelphia and will utilize Comcast employees to support the development of the platform on behalf of both companies.
