Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is upgrading and expanding the reach of its network serving Fayette and Somerset Counties, PA, and Preston County, WV. Residential customers in those service areas will have access to all Xfinity services, including Xfinity Internet, the X1 video platform, Xfinity Home, Xfinity Voice and Xfinity Mobile. Businesses in those areas can get the full suite of Comcast Business products and services, including Ethernet network speeds up to 100 Gbps.
"Access to high-speed broadband is critical for modern education, medicine and commerce," Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said. "I applaud Comcast for making rural broadband expansion a priority as my administration works to ensure every Pennsylvania resident, business, farm, school and hospital has access to broadband."
The upgrades will pass approximately 4,500 rural homes with 119 miles of new fiber construction and cover all of the MSO's current customers in Fayette County, most of its customers in Preston County and five municipalities in western Somerset County. Comcast completed its upgrade to the remainder of its Somerset County service area in 2018.
The new services have begun to roll out in Comcast's Fayette County service areas, which include Henry Clay Township, Markleysburg Borough, North Union Township, Ohiopyle Borough, Stewart Township and Wharton Township. The services will begin to roll out to Preston County, WV, customers in June, and Somerset County customers in Addison Township, Confluence Borough, Lower Turkeyfoot Township, Upper Turkeyfoot Township and Ursina Borough will begin to have availability in July.
"We applaud Comcast's investment in infrastructure to upgrade and expand gigabit service to Preston County residents and businesses," said Robert Hinton, chairman of the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council. "West Virginia embraces private partners like Comcast who strive to significantly exceed minimum service standards and provide state-of-the-art, scalable technology within the mountain state."
Comcast recently extended its fiber network approximately two miles to reach North Star Industrial Park in Boswell Borough and Jenner Township in Somerset County, and is currently completing an extension to serve more than 250 rural homes and businesses in Belmont County, OH, including the village of Morristown.
Residential Xfinity Internet customers in the upgraded areas will be among the more than 99% of Comcast customers in Pennsylvania who have access to speeds up to 1 Gbps.
"As connectivity becomes the center of the digital home, we are redefining what people should expect from broadband," said Christine Whitaker, senior vice president of Comcast's Keystone Region. "We've built an Internet experience that combines gigabit speeds with the best WiFi coverage, a digital dashboard to manage IoT devices, and enough capacity to stay ahead of the next generation of technology and innovation, and we're pleased to bring this innovation to more of our customers in Fayette, Somerset and Preston counties."
Existing Comcast customers in the upgraded areas will be need to exchange their existing equipment for new, digital devices - which can be shipped at no additional charge - to continue receiving Xfinity video services or to begin receiving Xfinity Internet, Xfinity Voice and Xfinity Home service.