Smart Home Camera

Comcast® is one of the best internet providers in the United States. Currently, the cheap internet provider introduced a unique idea that can make a stir in the communication field. The Telco added a pet detection camera to their Xfinity smart home camera. This will enable their customers to keep an eye on their furry friends. Comcast® made it possible for their consumers to detect the movement of their pets utilizing the AI platform. This will let the customers sort through long videos quickly and identify the ones with just their pets. The company decided to incorporate a pet filter to the Xfinity Smart home camera since a recent survey reported that 94% of their internet-enabled camera users tend to check on their pets frequently.

Even though Pet filter is one of the latest AI features, this isn’t the first time that the company is coming up with this type of unique element. Two years ago, Comcast® unveiled certain thumbnails for their customers who tend to use the 24×7 video recording feature of the company. With these thumbnails, the company enhances the ability of their customers to find the relevant motion episodes quickly. After a year, the feature was upgraded by incorporating computer vision models. This allows the Xfinity cameras to automatically detect the motion triggered by vehicles or people.

The vice president and general manager of Comcast’s® Xfinity Home, Dennis Matthew said, “We developed this feature to help our customers quickly filter motion-triggered events by people, vehicles, or pets because we wanted to bring them the video clips that matter most even faster. It’s an intelligent home security solution that enables our customers to easily check in on their loved ones from anywhere, anytime.”

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The latest innovative pet filter is developed by the computer experts from the applied AI team of the company in Washington DC along with the engineers from the camera team of the company in Philadelphia. The vision specialists in the company analyzed thousands of home security camera visuals donated to the company by employee testers using machine learning as well to ensure its efficiency. Finally, this trendsetting feature that allows the Comcast® customers to check in on their furry friends throughout the day was introduced on 06-06-2019.

In a press release, a representative of the company said, “The goal was to build an algorithm that could quickly and consistently detect movement from a pet, and clearly distinguish it from a car, or a person, or anything else that might trigger motion detection. Initially, we looked into commercial solutions that might work for our cameras, but we weren’t satisfied with the accuracy we were seeing. Detecting a dog photographed from five feet away, standing still in perfect lighting isn’t the same as detecting one running across the backyard 30 feet away, and we needed an algorithm that could do both – so the cameras could reliably spot … Spot.”

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There are several ways to get affordable internet service, which not all people know. Some cheap internet services are only available to low-income households, but there are other subsidized plans available to anyone. In other words, you can avail the latter no matter how little you earn or how much you make.

Almost all major internet providers in the country offer cheap internet plans to low-income customers or families. In addition, FCC’s broadband adoption program also offers such plans to low-income groups.

Affordable internet is offered separately to such customers by public or private services, as long as they meet certain criteria that make them eligible to enroll for the broadband program. However, the eligibility criteria might vary from one state to the other and one program/company to the other. You might qualify for one if you have a member in your family who participates in a governmental assistance program.

Why the Internet is Offered at Cheap Prices

Not all customers in the country have access to the internet because of the relatively high cost, which they cannot afford. For those with the spending power, the cost of a standard internet plan may not seem all that high, but for low-income families, it does.

Bridge Connectivity Gap

The cause to provide customers with cheap internet is to bridge the connectivity gap. That exists in part because the deprived section of society also does not have access to the basic facilities to access the internet, The gap between those with the privileged section of the society is more apparent than what one can imagine, hence the need to bridge the digital divide. To this end, internet service providers also take certain initiatives, such as donating laptops or computers to the deprived families. Some of the telecom giants take part in such initiatives, but not all of them do.

All this is linked to one thing: availability of the basic facilities. Cheap internet plans are made available by companies in all US states, in addition to Washington DC and Puerto Rico. The first broadband adoption program was rolled out in 2011, and it was aimed at Americans who were struggling to make their ends meet. Existing technology advancements brought new private companies into the affordable internet business, giving more options to US customers.

Monthly Internet Cost

Even if you are happy with your existing internet service provider, you might still be paying more for the service. Some ways to find a cheap internet service or lower your monthly bills are outlined below.

Reduce your Internet Speed

A few internet providers offer plans that promise downstream speeds of 100 megabits per second or more. However, not all residential users require that much speed. You could choose a different plan and decrease your bill by 35 dollars or more, depending upon your service provider. Determine the internet speed you want, and contact the carrier to choose a different or lower speed tier package. This speed requirement might depend on your monthly usage; if you do basic surfing and stream video and audio on a single device, you can choose an alternative plan that is lower in price.

Negotiate your Internet Bill

Tell your service provider that you have found a cheap internet plan elsewhere, and that you need to opt for it instead. Be polite yet firm enough in conveying this to your existing carrier. The better you back up this stance, the better the leverage you will have. So research promotional prices your provider and its rivals offer to new customers now – be ready to cancel the service and subscribe to another one that offers a better deal in comparison.

Bundle your Services

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If you already subscribe to cable, then you can save over 1,000 dollars in the course of two years with some service providers by bundling it with internet. Be wary of the upsell. Some operators may try to talk customers into extra speed or TV channels for 5 or 10 dollars a month. That monthly increase adds up to a bigger cost over time, and in turn defeats your main aim – to save money.

Use your Own Cable Modem as Well as Router

If you are planning to stay with one ISP for a few (contractual) years, it might be even more cost-effective to use your own equipment unit rather than renting the hardware. Many services charge 10 to 15 dollars a month to rent it. If you stay with such types of providers for a couple of years, the overall costs would be 240 to 360 dollars. You can purchase a top-rated router and modem for less than 200 dollars. Moreover, remember that some service providers will not offer support or personal hardware troubleshooting.