Comcast Business touts network expansion efforts in Greater Philadelphia, New Jersey
Comcast Business says it is in the midst of a two-year network expansion effort to better serve customers in Greater Philadelphia and New Jersey. The company says that it expects to spend $26 million on the effort, which will reach nearly 4,000 businesses directly and make its infrastructure more readily available and affordable for “thousands more.”
The expansion initiative began last year, when Comcast Business deployed new fiber-optic cable in such areas 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. This year, the company has targeted 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 densification of fiber services in Cherry Hill, Mount Laurel, and Marlton, NJ.
The company spent $10.3 million on last year’s work and expects to spend $15.7 million more this year. The infrastructure will support delivery of up to 1 Gbps for small and medium-sized businesses and up to 100 Gbps for larger enterprises.
"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."
"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," added 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."
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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