Comcast Offers Premium Tech-Support Nationwide

Comcast has finished the nationwide rollout of its Xfinity Signature Support premium technical support service, which is now available to the operator's 22 million customers.

Comcast provides free 24-hour support only for its own video, broadband and phone services and related equipment. With Xfinity Signature Support, which Comcast spent about year developing, the MSO provides troubleshooting and support for computers, home networks and other devices with support online, over the phone or in a customer's home.

The MSO first launched the service in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tenn., markets in March, followed by the Philadelphia metro area, Boston and other areas.

More recently, Comcast launched Xfinity Signature Support in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.

"Comcast has been making significant investments to enhance our products while improving the service and support we deliver," Comcast senior vice president and general manager of new businesses Mitch Bowling said in a statement. "Providing an end-to-end technical support solution like Xfinity Signature Support is one of the ways we're creating more personalized levels of care that are tailored to our customers' needs and interests."

According to Comcast, Xfinity Signature Support has received positive feedback in customer surveys, with an average overall satisfaction score of 9.0 on a 10-point scale.

The online and phone component of Xfinity Signature Support is provided by Support.com, a Redwood City, Calif.-based provider of technical support services, while Nashville, Tenn.-based Asurion provides in-home tech support visits.

Xfinity Signature Support is available in three tiers: the Computer Maintenance Plan, $4.95 per month, for basic support for up to four computers; Wireless Networking Support for $5.95 per month (plus a $39 setup fee), which adds support for Wi-Fi networking equipment; and Complete Home Support, $19.95 per month (plus $79 setup fee), which includes support for home networking, maintenance for up to four PCs, virus removal, peripherals, and data backup and restoration.

In addition to the monthly plans, Comcast will sell one-time fixes, such as virus removal or connecting printers or game consoles to wireless networks under the Xfinity Signature Support brand for between $49.95 and $129.95 a pop. The service also offers extended equipment plans covering computers and flat-panel TVs, which are to be administered by Asurion.

More info is available at www.xfinity.com/signaturesupport.