Comcast Business this week announced a $28 million investment to expand its fiber broadband network in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia. The announcement comes on the heels of an announced 2-year, $26 million similar investment in the Greater Philadelphia and New Jersey markets.
Comcast Business today announced a major expansion of its fiber-rich network throughout its Beltway Region, spanning the states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia. The company says the network buildout includes $13 million invested in 2020 and $15 million in projects underway or planned for 2021, extending high-performance Ethernet, internet, advanced voice solutions and more to nearly 7,000 additional businesses.
Once completed, Comcast Business notes it will have committed a total of more than $110 million in area network expansions since 2015, to benefit nearly 35,000 of the region's largest companies and organizations.
Per the operator:
The network expansion delivers speeds up to 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) for small and medium-sized businesses and up to 100 Gbps for larger enterprises and will support the ability to bring new customers online quickly with advanced services, including fast business Wi-Fi for employees and guests, cybersecurity solutions, 4G LTE backup, business TV and more.
Additionally, businesses of all sizes now will have access to a comprehensive portfolio of Comcast Business products and services to help meet the day-to-day demands that require large amounts of bandwidth, linking multiple sites or branch locations or connecting offices to third-party data centers.
According to a Comcast statement, the latest expansion deploys new fiber optic cable or densifies existing fiber services across the following areas:
- Delaware: Georgetown, Ocean View, Rehoboth Beach and Smyrna
- Maryland: Eastern Shore, Frederick and Montgomery County
- Virginia: Ashburn, Dulles, Harrisonburg, Leesburg, Lynchburg and Richmond; planned investments include Front Royal, Tysons Corner and Warrenton
- Washington, D.C.
- West Virginia: Huntington and Martinsburg
"Comcast's infrastructure investment in Virginia supports our business community and helps us attract new businesses to the Commonwealth," said Brian Ball, Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade.
Ed Rowan, senior director of Comcast Business Sales Operations in Comcast's Beltway Region, added, "The ability to offer both diversity of network and carrier is becoming increasingly important to help drive economic development and transformation. Connectivity is at the core of this and, more than ever, is an integral factor as businesses expand and prepare for what's next. Our network expansions across Comcast's Beltway Region are the latest example of the significant technology investments we've made to increase the availability of our multi-Gigabit Ethernet services. These investments will help foster economic development, transform our local communities, and better meet next-generation capacity needs across the region."
Greater Philadelphia and New Jersey
Meanwhile on Sept. 27, Comcast Business announced a two-year, $26 million investment in a major expansion of its advanced network throughout Greater Philadelphia and New Jersey, reaching nearly 4,000 businesses directly and benefiting thousands more by making the network more accessible and affordable.
The two-year build-out includes $10.3 million invested in 2020 and an additional $15.7 million in projects underway or planned for 2021. Capable of delivering up to 1 Gigabit of network capacity for small and medium-sized businesses, or up to 100 Gigabits-per-second for larger enterprises, the operator says the network expansion will support advanced services and the ability to bring new customers online quickly. While the Comcast network already serves thousands of the region's largest companies and businesses, this expansion delivers high-performance Ethernet, Internet and advanced voice solutions to more businesses and organizations, said the company.
The 2020 expansion deploys new fiber-optic cable across areas such as Center City Philadelphia; Avenue of the States in the City of Chester, PA; business districts in New Brunswick and Lakewood, NJ; and 270 NJ Transit sites and neighboring businesses; among others. Significant work over the past several months has already begun, and additional network expansions will continue into 2021.
Planned investments in 2021 include service expansions to the University of Pennsylvania and the Food District in Philadelphia; the redevelopment of the old Bristol Myers Squibb campus in Pennington, NJ; a network build in Springfield, NJ; and a major densification of fiber services in Cherry Hill, Mount Laurel and Marlton, NJ.
"Access to technology is critical to the success of our local businesses, whether it's a regional business closing more deals digitally, a hospital transferring large imaging files or a retailer looking to connect multiple locations," said Dean Miller, President and CEO of the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies. "Comcast's investment in the region will strengthen our business community and create new opportunities by supporting workforce development and benefiting overall economic expansion."
As reckoned by Comcast:
The [network] expansion will provide businesses of all sizes with access to a comprehensive portfolio of products and services to help meet the day-to-day demands of organizations requiring large amounts of bandwidth, looking to link multiple sites or branch locations, or planning to connect their offices to a third-party data center. This includes fast business WiFi for employees and guests, cybersecurity solutions, 4G LTE backup, business TV and more.
"Capacity and performance are increasingly becoming the two main engines driving all businesses, and that became even more important over the past year," said Michael Louden, regional vice president for Comcast Business. "Our fiber expansions in Greater Philadelphia and New Jersey are the latest example of the significant investments we've made to increase the availability of our multi-Gigabit Ethernet services to help foster economic development and meet the next-generation capacity needs of customers across the region. In addition to these tech investments, we're also proud of the support we're providing to local businesses owned by people of color disproportionately affected by COVID through complimentary services and grants provided by the Comcast RISE program. As technology becomes a basic need for business success, these investments will continue to drive growth for local businesses and our communities."
Learn more at http://business.comcast.com.