Comcast Business reimagines its small business approach

Expanded DIA

Connectivity is at the heart of Comcast Business’s new offer for small businesses.  

To better serve its small business customer base, Comcast Business has expanded its Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) solution to now reach more than 3.5 million businesses nationwide. This represents a 50% increase in available symmetrical speeds over HFC and extends reach to 40% more businesses since it announced it was extending the reach of the DIA service to 1 million new businesses in February.

The move was clearly a way for Comcast Business to threaten incumbent Ethernet providers like AT&T and Lumen, which have long enjoyed dominant positions in the business services market. At the time, the service provider said the move is part of a broader $80 billion investment in network innovation over the last decade to satisfy business customers' needs for DIA services.

Featuring symmetrical speeds of 300 Mbps, the service is backed by robust service level agreements (SLAs), including 99.99% uptime and features rapid deployment, expert support, and proactive network monitoring over fiber and its existing HFC plant.

“This product is our flavor DIA that runs on our HFC plant,” Nascimento said. “We have been increasing speeds since we started last year with a 35 Mbps symmetrical tier and then moved to 50, 100, 200 Mbps, and now 300 Mbps, which is the latest speed increase leveraging next-gen network with DOCSIS 3.1, DOCSIS 4.0, and its full duplex enhancements.”

Enhancing wireless and Wi-Fi capabilities

With more small businesses leveraging wireless, Comcast Business is offering a suite of expanded mobile and Wi-Fi capabilities.

The service provider is now offering its Business Internet and Wireless Connect plarform to ensure small businesses can avoid network downtime. By combining Comcast Business Internet with dual cellular networks and access to millions of Wi-Fi hotspots, the solution delivers continuous connectivity.

Wireless Connect automatically detects and switches to the strongest available connection in real-time and includes a battery backup to maintain operations during power outages for up to eight hours.

“Mobile is a core aspect of our value proposition,” Nascimento said. “It is part of our convergence strategy to make sure you have the best connectivity both in the location and when you need to leave, which may be a mobile device.”  

Having established a new Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) arrangement with T-Mobile, targeting enterprise business customers, Comcast Business could extend these capabilities even further when the services emerge in 2026.

Another attractive element in Comcast Business’s favor is its growing wireless base. As of the end of the third quarter, Comcast added a record 414,000 new mobile customers, bringing its total number of mobile lines to 8.9 million.

“With the new MVNO with T-Mobile, we’re getting ready to take mobile into the enterprise space and we’re bullish on mobile to help our customers,” Nascimento said. “We can now offer mobile across our entire footprint that our competition is still trying to catch up to, so we like the hand that we have.”

Along with its mobile capabilities, Comcast Business is also enhancing its Wi-Fi capabilities, also focused on enhancing coverage and reach. Existing Comcast Business customers can now enhance their in-location connectivity with WiFi Extenders.

These devices work with the Comcast Business gateway to create a mesh network that eliminates dead spots and strengthens signals to enable consistent uptime for employees, customers and guests. Businesses can manage the Wi-Fi capabilities through the Comcast Business MyAccount app.

The goal is to create a unified solution across mobile and Wi-Fi. “Our Wi-Fi extenders are pods that can close the gap for a business that’s too large for one access point, but not so large that it needs a whole Meraki-type of setup,” he said. “Our theme is keeping businesses connected and protected.”

While Wi-Fi extenders are more focused on retail or businesses with customers, Nascimento said, “if you have multiple point of sale (POS) systems in a location, you need a strong meshed Wi-Fi network throughout.”

Raising the cybersecurity bar

While connectivity is key to the small business arena, this segment is vulnerable to the same security threats met by larger businesses.

Comcast Business is responding with its Comcast Business SecurityEdge Preferred platform.

Set to be launched soon, Comcast Business’ SecurityEdge Preferred will bring big business cybersecurity to small businesses – without the complexity. Currently in a beta release, this is a managed platform that’s embedded directly into the Comcast network.

“This product does not require additional CPE because it is all built into our network and is then delivered off the customer’s existing modem or router,” Nascimento said. “We can push a button and enable that for a small business.”

Regardless of business type, Nascimento added that connectivity and cybersecurity have become table stakes within the small business segment.

“We think these services are important to small businesses because the majority of them don’t have IT shops, so they will rely on us,” he said. “Likewise, our connectivity products are also important to small businesses, especially today, where there’s less cash and more payments are happening online, so both are pretty broad in their appeal.”

What’s telling about Comcast Business’s enhanced SMB product set and the new security capabilities is the timing—they were released at the beginning of the Christmas season, a time when scammers look to take advantage of unsuspecting business owners and consumers.

During the Christmas season, businesses can face scams, including fake invoices for unreceived goods, phishing attempts via fake shipping notices, fraudulent online purchases using stolen credit cards, imposter scams asking for sensitive information, and fake charities.

“Black Friday and Cyber Monday are opportunities for bad guys to take a crack at all businesses,” Nascimento said. “We want to be top of mind in protecting our customers.”

For related articles, visit the Business Topic Center.
For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.
To stay abreast of fiber network deployments, subscribe to Lightwave’s Service Providers and Datacom/Data Center newsletters.