Network Investments in Fayette, Somerset and Preston Counties Bring Rural Customers Gigabit Internet, Xfinity’s Full Suite of Products and Services
PITTSBURGH, PA – MAY 13, 2019 – Comcast today announced it is significantly upgrading and expanding the reach of its network serving Fayette and Somerset Counties, Pennsylvania and Preston County, West Virginia. Residential customers in these service areas will have access to all Xfinity services, including Xfinity Internet, the award-winning Xfinity X1 video platform, Xfinity Home, Xfinity Voice and Xfinity Mobile, and businesses in these areas can get the full suite of Comcast Business products and services, including Ethernet network speeds up to 100 Gigabits-per-second.
“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.”
This effort, part of Comcast’s ongoing commitment to continue investing in its national network and the overall customer experience, will pass approximately 4,500 rural homes with 119 miles of new fiber construction and covers all of its 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.
These 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. These 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.”
In addition to these investments, 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 Ohio, including the Village of Morristown.
State Senator Pat Stefano (R-32), who represents Fayette, Somerset and parts of Westmoreland Counties in the Pennsylvania Senate, heralded Comcast’s announcement. “This is an exciting announcement for our region. The availability of high speed internet is critical to the success and future growth of our communities,” he said. “Comcast’s investment in our region is critical to our future and a testament to their commitment to Pennsylvania.”
Residential Xfinity Internet customers in these expanded areas will now be among the more than 99 percent of Comcast customers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who have access to speeds up to 1 Gigabit-per-second. In addition, Xfinity xFi gives users speed, coverage and control of the home WiFi experience as well as advanced security features.
“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.”
Comcast has invested billions of dollars in its Pennsylvania and West Virginia networks to meet consumer demand, increasing speeds 17 times in 18 years and providing among the fastest, most reliable Internet speeds over its fiber-rich network and one of the fastest in-home Wi-Fi experiences for customers. Comcast also has expanded eligibility 11 times for Internet Essentials, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program. Internet Essentials provides low-cost broadband service for $9.95 a month, digital literacy training and discounted computers and has connected more than six million Americans since its inception in 2011.
Existing Comcast customers in these 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. They can call 1-800-XFINITY, go online to www.xfinity.com or visit Xfinity Stores in Greensburg, PA (824 East Pittsburgh Street) or Morgantown, WV (740 Venture Drive).
