Comcast launches prepaid and month-to-month internet and phone plans

• Comcast is launching a prepaid and month-to-month internet and phone plan program called NOW.
• The plans are aimed at being low in cost, coming in at between $20 per month and $45 per month, depending on the package.
• The NOW program supplements Comcast’s long-standing low-income internet option, called Internet Essentials.

Comcast launches prepaid and month-to-month internet and phone plans

Comcast announced Wednesday that it is launching a prepaid and month-to-month low-cost internet and phone plan program called NOW.

The new plan is designed to be simple for customers to opt into or cancel at any time using Xfinity and unlimited 5G. Comcast said NOW offers more flexibility than fixed wireless options at a low cost.

The program includes four different offerings:

• NOW Internet, where customers choose between 100 megabits per second, or Mbps, for $30 per month, or 200 Mbps for $45 per month, both including unlimited data.
• NOW Mobile, with unlimited data for talking and texting at $25 per line.
• NOW TV, which offers Xfinity internet customers on-demand and live streaming from more than 40 networks for $20 per month.
• NOW WiFi Pass, providing unlimited access to Xfinity hotspots for $20 for 30 days.

“Consumers have told us they want low-cost, easy-to-use connectivity and entertainment options that deliver the same reliability and consistency of our leading Xfinity services,” Comcast Cable President and CEO Dave Watson said in a statement. “With NOW, we’ve developed a new product construct from the ground up to be simple and easy for anybody who wants Internet, mobile or TV on their own terms without sacrificing quality.”

The NOW program supplements Comcast’s long-standing low-income internet option, called Internet Essentials, which packages 50 Mbps for $9.95 per month. The company has already tested NOW across a few American cities and expects a full-scale national rollout in the coming weeks, it added. NOW TV and NOW WiFi Pass are available immediately.

Comcast has been experiencing a lack of broadband growth over the past year, reporting net broadband losses in multiple quarters. The company has indicated that it plans to change that, with Watson adding on an October company earnings call that it is “a pretty competitive environment.”

Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.