Xfinity Data Usage Spike
Xfinity data usage spike has been a major topic of discussion on various online forums and platforms, even in some of the news channels for a period of time. The sudden wrongly placed data usage meter readings gave everyone mild heart attacks. Hundreds of thousands of Xfinity customers lost their patience and their temper due to the inaccurate meter reading scenario and bad customer care services. Let’s get into the gory details of the matter to know what actually happened at the time.
Xfinity as Comcast Cable Communication
Comcast Cable Communication has been marketed in the industry by the brand name of XFINITY. It is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation that markets its various telecommunication services including internet, cable television, telephone, and other wireless services. The name of Xfinity was introduced is the near past in 2010 as a way to remodel the servicing brand and bring s sense of newness to the company.
Data Usage Meter Spike
Everything was working fine, going right on track before September 2019 when a sudden spike in Xfinity data usage shook the internet market of the United States. The minor software bug related to data usage meter readings caused the company to face a massive deceiving claim for stealing from the customers. The company incorrectly charged more than two thousand Xfinity users huge sums of money saying they exceeded their usual monthly data caps.
Everyone started posting questions and accusations regarding the issue on different social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, etc. Some even went to the online forum to seek help and reported the issue to the respective authorities but Comcast straight out denied to accept the fact that their system is corrupted and insisted on convincing the users that it is them who are at fault.
However, due to the largest reported number of queries stating similar issues, the authorities had to go and check their systems. Finally, Comcast admitted the error as their fault and announced to give all the users refunds and some additional amount of credits ($50 each) to all their customers who had been charged with large sums and also wrongly paid their data overage fees which even in the first place, shouldn’t have been assessed.
How the Issue Was Reported?
One of Xfinity customers reported the issue with all his solid proofs of being a victim of Comcast software bug. The guy requested not to publish his name details though so we’re going to respect his privacy and secrecy. He told the authorities that he hadn’t even been at home using his internet services. His Xfinity router was not in working order when he was charged for exceeding his 1 terabyte monthly data cap so it is undoubtedly impossible that he can be at fault.
The inquiries were made regarding his and other’s complaints causing the company to investigate the matter and take proper action.
What was the Trigger?
Comcast engineers, after investigation, found out that the new billing system put in action in early August was the culprit. The data meter calculating and collecting the data was accurately working but the numbers that reported in the new billing system were incorrect
The software bug problem was fixed when Comcast (Xfinity) rolled the billing software back to its previous version on October 2nd. But this is not the end as Comcast still needs to figure out a way to deploy its new bugged billing software without them re-triggering the Xfinity data usage spike problem.
The decision made by Comcast to roll back into the older version of billing software was just to buy more time. Comcast engineers are utilizing this time to figure out what was the root cause id the problem. Further testings are being done before making any attempt to reinstall the new billing software.
Conclusion
Comcast made a wise decision to bring back the older billing software in action to avoid any more Xfinity data usage spikes. They identified those of the customers who were wrongly charged for paying overage fees. Now Comcast is trying to proactively apply for their bill credits according to their actual data usage details along with adding $50 additional data credits to all the victimized customers’ accounts.