A unit of Comcast Corp. said Thursday that it has struck a deal that will enable its broadband subscribers to use a large network of Wi-Fi hot spots when they travel to some countries in Europe.
Specifically, Comcast said it has reached an agreement with Liberty Global PLC, an international cable company that has more than 2.5 million hot spots in such countries as Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Poland, and Switzerland.
Comcast and Liberty Global plan a pilot program for the shared Wi-Fi service later this year and will offer it on a wider scale in 2015.
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Under the arrangement, many Liberty Global subscribers who live in Europe would be able to gain access to Comcast’s 3 million Xfinity Wi-Fi hot spots when they are in the United States.
Currently, many American tourists have to incur roaming charges if they want to use their cellphones and other portable devices to connect to the Internet while they are in Europe.
According to Comcast, the agreement with Liberty Global will give many Americans visiting Europe and many Europeans visiting the United States a lower-cost option.
“This is our first step in bringing global Wi-Fi connectivity to our customers,” Comcast Cable senior vice president Tom Nagel said in a statement.