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Tag: Comcast

Adams County to receive Xfinity 10G Network from Comcast

The extension of Xfinity 10G Network to nearly 100 residents and businesses in Carroll Valley Borough and Liberty and Mount Joy Townships in Adams County was announced Wednesday by Comcast. 

These areas now have access to Comcast’s full suite of services, including Xfinity residential broadband speeds up to 2 gigabits per second and Comcast Business speeds up to 100 Gbps. 

Ray Roundtree, senior vice president for Comcast’s Keystone Region, said the company is proud to extend its service deeper into Adams County. 

“Bringing high-speed and reliable Internet access to additional locations in Carroll Valley Borough and Liberty and Mount Joy Townships will help ensure that more residents and businesses have the important broadband connections they need for their educational, professional, and personal lives,” Roundtree said in a statement. 

Comcast has invested $2.4 billion into the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in recent years to improve and expand its network. In addition to the company’s latest investments in Adams County, the company is continuing work on its network expansion in Blair County, including Allegheny and Blair Townships, Duncansville, and Hollidaysburg. 

Carroll Valley Borough Manager Dave Hazlett noted the importance of gaining access to high-speed internet to connect with the economy. 

“Projects like this continue to help us make an already thriving community even stronger,” said Hazlett.

Comcast expands network in Perry County

Comcast announced Thursday that it is expanding its Xfinity 10G Network to 375 homes in Liverpool borough in Perry County.

The telecommunications conglomerate has started providing its full suite of Xfinity services to its first new customers in Liverpool, with the expansion expected to be complete by end of year.

“We are proud to further our investment in Perry County,” Ray Roundtree, senior vice president for Comcast’s Keystone Region, said in a release. “Expanding our high-speed and reliable Internet access to Liverpool Borough will help ensure that more residents have the important broadband connections they need for their educational, professional and personal lives.”

“Comcast knows high-speed Internet access is critical for connecting to work, school, family, friends and entertainment,” added Liverpool Mayor Richard E. Teats. “Comcast is helping families enjoy the benefits that digital access brings.”

From 2019-2021, Comcast invested $2.4 billion in Pennsylvania to improve and expand its network and improve service delivery. Comcast’s expansion to Liverpool is the company’s latest investment in the central and eastern part of the state.

It has completed or is working on network expansion in Luzerne, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Columbia, Northumberland, Montour, Sullivan, Chester and Berks counties.

Dauphin County, Comcast partner to provide broadband access to homes, businesses

A $4.1 million project aimed at offering high-speed internet options to nearly 500 homes and businesses in northern Dauphin County was announced Monday by Dauphin County Commissioners and Comcast. 

The project is at the forefront of efforts by the commissioners and Comcast to expand broadband internet access for northern Dauphin County communities.  

Monday’s announcement closely follows Gov. Tom Wolf’s announcement last Thursday that Pennsylvania is receiving nearly $7 million from President Joe Biden’s “Internet for All” initiative. 

“Expanding the broadband grid has been a priority for quite some time – it was just a matter of finding the right partner,” Mike Pries, Chairman of the Dauphin County Commissioners, said in a statement. “This project will improve quality of life north of the mountain.” 

Having been informed by parents, school administrators and educators, and business owners of the difficulties of daily life without the benefit of broadband access, the commissioners have been working to find a partner for the project. 

“Having easy access to fast, secure internet service should not be a luxury,” Commissioner George P. Hartwick, III said. 

A one-time contribution by Dauphin County will fund 75% of the project. The remaining funds to build the network will be committed by Comcast. The network’s maintenance will be the responsibility of Comcast. As the project moves forward, Dauphin County and Comcast will communicate with businesses, residents, and schools in impacted areas. 

“We are proud to join with the Dauphin County Commissioners in this effort where we can continue our investments in rural Pennsylvania communities,” said Alka Patel, vice president of government affairs and community impact for Comcast’s Keystone Region. “We are committed to connecting as many families and businesses as possible to our smart, fast and reliable fiber-rich network.” 

The network will bring speeds of up to 1.2 gigabits per second. Engineering work is scheduled to begin soon, and network construction is expected for 2023. 

The need for internet access for homes and businesses was vividly displayed during the COVID-19 pandemic, when education and employment moved from on-site to remote. 

“We saw and heard about the challenges students had finding a fast connection for their schoolwork,” Commissioner Chad Saylor said. “Some families resorted to driving many miles to a café or business.” 

Benefiting from the broadband project will be school districts for Halifax Area, Millersburg, Susquenita, and Upper Dauphin, along with residents and businesses in Halifax, Jackson, Jefferson, Lykens, Mifflin, Reed, Upper Paxton, Washington, and Wayne townships. 

“Affordable high-speed internet has become essential for students, families, and businesses in our community and across the Commonwealth,” said Dr. David R. Hatfield, Superintendent of Halifax Area School District. “We are pleased that Dauphin County is helping to expand internet coverage to underserved areas.”

Comcast finishes expanding its network in Colerain Township

Comcast announced Monday that it completed the expansion of its network to more than 160 homes and businesses in Colerain Township, adding to the telecommunication giant‘s continued investment in Lancaster County and throughout eastern and central Pennsylvania.

The new customers have access to all Xfinity residential and Comcast Business services, including broadband Internet speeds of up to 1.2 gigabits per second for residences and up to 100 Gbps for businesses.

“We are proud to have the chance to be a part of bringing increased connectivity to the residents of Colerain Township and Lancaster County,” Toni Murphy, senior vice president of Comcast’s Keystone Region, said in a release. “Having access to a reliable network that delivers speed, security and functionality is a game changer when it comes to our day-to-day lives – making everything from ordering school supplies to applying for jobs or connecting with family that much easier and better.”

Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler, who represents Colerain Township in the General Assembly, said, “Access is the first step to quality education and information, and your ZIP Code should not predetermine your resources. I want to thank Comcast’s continued efforts to ensure more and more Pennsylvanians have access to broadband Internet services. This is a great opportunity for everyone in Colerain Township, in particular students and future students who will have tools available to them to pursue their educational goals.”

And Scott E. Shoemaker, chairman of the Colerain Township Board of Supervisors, added: “This expansion will make Colerain Township an even more attractive place to live and work by ensuring access to a reliable network for everyone, which is more important than ever.”

Paula Wolf is a freelance writer

Comcast begins service to Colerain Township 

Comcast announced Wednesday that it has started providing services to customers in Colerain Township, Lancaster County, including residential broadband speeds up to 1.2 gigabits per second and business speeds up to 100 Gbps. 

The telecommunications giant is scheduled to complete the expansion of its network to the township by the end of June. 

Colerain Township residents and businesses can go to centralpa.comcast.com to see if they are already eligible for service and how to sign up. 

“We are proud to extend our advanced, fiber-rich network deeper into Lancaster County,” Greg Wells, vice president of sales and marketing for Comcast’s Keystone Region, said in a release. “And we are committed to continue innovating … and investing in our network as we know customers rely on us to keep them connected at home and on the go.” 

Colerain Township’s residential customers will have access to Xfinity’s full suite of Internet products, including xFi, a digital dashboard to control the home WiFi network; xFi pods, which are WiFi extenders; Xfinity Mobile; and Flex, a free 4K platform for Internet-only customers that delivers streaming content. 

 

Comcast plans to expand gigabit broadband in Lancaster County

After completing an expansion to bring gigabit broadband to customers in Sullivan County, Comcast announced that it is making additional investments in four other Pennsylvania counties, including Lancaster.

The project will connect nearly 3,400 rural homes and businesses in those five counties.
In Lancaster County, Comcast will enhance its network to deliver broadband to 185 homes and business customers in Colerain Township by the fall of 2022.

Expansions are already underway in Northumberland, Montour and Columbia County for completion by the end of this year.

“This announcement changes the very landscape of opportunities for our friends and neighbors,” Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler, who represents Colerain Township, said in a release. “High speed broadband access opens up a new world of educational access to residents today, and for future generations who will call our community home.”

Comcast unveils plan to invest $1 billion to help connect low-income households

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Internet Essentials program, which provides low-cost broadband internet access to low-income households, Comcast has announced plans to spend $1 billion over the next 10 years to further narrow the digital divide.

Robert Grove, vice president of communications for the Comcast Keystone Region, said the company, which has already helped 10 million households with the program since 2011, will seek to assist 50 million low-income individuals with low-cost internet and other services to help them stay connected.

“It’s so important. Today you can’t really apply for a job without the internet,” Grove said.

In addition to providing the internet service at $9.95 per month for 50 Mbps of Internet speed to anyone in a federally approved assistance program that lives within Comcast’s footprint, the company is also donating laptops to low-income individuals through a number of community service partners and is expanding its Lift Zone program.

Lift Zones are community centers in low-income areas, which have dedicated internet access for children.

“With this, kids can access the internet if they can’t school at home for whatever reason,” Grove said.

With many students still learning remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said it expects students will be able to complete more than 25 million hours of remote learning at Lift Zone locations that have already opened, or will be opening soon.

There are a number of lift zones in Comcast’s Keystone region, including one in Harrisburg and seven in the Greater Reading area.

Grove said Comcast aims to connect more than 1,000 community centers with free Wi-Fi by the end of 2021.

He said the work the company has done over the last 10 years has already been impactful in Pennsylvania.

Since 2011 it has enrolled 290,000 households in Pennsylvania in the Internet Essentials Program, often working with community groups to help pay the $9.95 monthly cost for those most in need.

In fact, Pennsylvania has had the fourth-highest participation in the nation.

In Dauphin County, Grove said the company has around 11,000 households enrolled in the program with 8,600 of them in Harrisburg.

There are around 12,000 households in Berks County in the program, with 9,800 of them in the city of Reading.

“Together, we have been able to connect millions of people to the power of the Internet at home, and to the endless opportunity, education, growth, and discovery it provides. Today, we are rededicating ourselves to this mission to ensure that the next generation of students in America has the tools, resources, and abilities they need to succeed in an increasingly digital world,” said Dave Watson, CEO of Comcast Cable in a statement.

COVID-19 has made the impact of internet access much more vital for many households and that has impacted Comcast’s Internet Essentials program.

The company has offered 60 days of free Internet service to any new Internet Essentials customer who needed to get online during the coronavirus outbreak.

With so many new internet users coming onboard, Grove noted that educating people about how to use the internet is also key to the effort.

To assist with that effort the company has built up an online learning center that includes more than 200 digital literacy training videos, guides and reports that are free to anyone to use, including non-customers.

It has also developed an employee network of 3,000 Internet Essentials Ambassadors who volunteer their time to help spread the word about the program in their communities.

Winners, losers and cruisers: Brands to watch in 2020

Here’s a quick look at brands that will be growing, shrinking, or maybe just disappearing in the coming year.

Comcast. The Big Boys of Cable have got to be feeling the pressure. They lived the good life, but now they are surrounded by streaming brands like Netflix, Apple TV+, and Amazon Prime. The real irony is that many of these streaming products are being delivered by Comcast’s own internet service. Comcast is rapidly losing relevance and the ability to charge for channels their customers don’t want.

Telsa/Elon Musk. What I love about the Tesla/Musk brand (and let’s face it they are inseparable) is the ongoing entertainment value that’s out of this world, sometimes literally. If you had bought their stock in June of 2019, you’d have doubled your money by now, but that’s partly because the brand looked to be in deep trouble with production delays and possible malfunctions of its “Autopilot” software. In six months, their revenues have recovered, they are introducing new models including, a futuristic truck that looks like a stealth bomber, and Elon has managed to behave more appropriately for a CEO.  Tesla/Musk just may have become the king of “what’s next,” beating out another pretty big brand, Apple, for the title, at least for now.

Juul. “And the winner of the 2020 Brand Most Likely to Disappear is…” Reminds me of the old joke about heading in the wrong direction but making really good time. This vaping brand is going to fall just as fast as it grew. Did they not see the potential for the trouble they’re in now? A product that introduces chemicals into the sensitive lungs of people of all ages? What could go wrong? Turns out, pretty much everything can. Between lawsuits and a growing number of bans on vaping products, this brand has nowhere to go but up in smoke. (Yeah, I went there.)

Boeing. The question for 2020, is will Boeing go “boing” or go bust? The 737 Max debacle has driven up their debt and has moved beyond damaging a particular product brand name to affecting the perception of the entire company. Their CEO just got his walking papers and when the Max is reintroduced later this year as planned, passengers around the world will be asking about what plane they are flying in like never before. Safety is the foundation of any air travel brand. Boeing has a big crack in it right now. Only a perfect track record can save them going forward.

Apple. I have to laugh at critics of Apple, who claim they lack sufficient innovation to sustain their growth as a company and a brand. Their revenues and stock price continue to increase, and they create some of the most powerful advertising in the world. That’s because Apple understands that their brand experience is less about their products and more about what people can do to be creative with them. All you want is to make cheap phone calls? Buy a prepaid burner. But if you want to make movies with your friends on the spur of the moment, buy an iPhone. And load it with songs from iTunes. And watch Apple TV on it instead of paying for cable.

 

David Taylor – Submitted

David Taylor is president of Lancaster-based Taylor Brand Group, which specializes in brand development and marketing technology. Contact him via www.taylorbrandgroup.com.