Local Legislators, Commissioners Applaud Comcast Investment in Sullivan County

Expansion Will Bring a Wide-Range of Internet Options from Comcast’s Internet Essentials Program for Low-Income Households to Gigabit Speeds, Xfinity’s Full Suite of TV, Mobile, Landline Phone and Home Security Products and Services, and Comcast Business Services to Rural Areas

HARRISBURG, PA – May 26, 2020 — State Sen. Gene Yaw (R-23) and state Rep. Tina Pickett (R-Bradford/Sullivan/Susquehanna) announced today that Comcast will begin a network expansion project this year to extend broadband service to nearly 1,200 addresses in central Sullivan County, PA, which includes the boroughs of Eagles Mere and Laporte and the townships of Shrewsbury and Laporte.

In addition to Gigabit internet service, residential customers in the county will have access to all Xfinity services, including 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. Comcast expects the first of these new services to be available by the end of this year and availability to the entire service area is expected to be complete in summer 2021.

“With thousands of Pennsylvanians learning and working from their homes, the importance of keeping people connected during this time of COVID-19 is critical,” Sen. Yaw said.  “I appreciate Comcast’s commitment to closing the digital divide in Sullivan County and addressing the needs of our un-served residents. This is welcome news.”

Comcast continues to invest in its Pennsylvania network to meet consumer demand, providing among the fastest, most reliable internet speeds over its fiber-rich network, and one of the fastest in-home Wi-Fi experiences. Comcast will also offer Internet Essentials, the national’s largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program, providing low-cost broadband service, digital literacy training and discounted computers.

“This broadband expansion by Comcast is incredibly needed and vital to all in Sullivan County,” said Rep. Pickett.  “Our business, education, medical and family needs will be far better served as a result of the project. We anxiously await the day when this level of service is available throughout the entire county.”

“The Sullivan County Commissioners and the Sullivan County Broadband Task Force were elated to learn of Comcast’s decision to expand its communication infrastructure in Sullivan County,” said Commissioner Brian Hoffman.  “This is a substantial investment on Comcast’s part, which will bring enhanced internet capabilities to areas of four municipalities.  Improving our citizens’ access to high-speed internet has been an overarching priority of this and prior Boards of Commissioners.  Facilitating improvements requires coordinated efforts among vendors, state and local officials, and most importantly the invaluable citizen volunteers on our Broadband Task Force.  Comcast’s significant investment in Sullivan County is greatly appreciated and exciting for our future.”

“Technology is a powerful driver of innovation, entrepreneurship and economic growth, and we recognize our company plays an important role in connecting Pennsylvanians to all that technology offers,” said Michael Parker, senior vice president of Comcast’s Keystone Region. “We are pleased to further invest in the Commonwealth and its residents and business by expanding our network to central Sullivan County.”

Also announced today was a similar expansion coming to Comcast service areas in rural portions of Clearfield and Cambria counties in Pennsylvania that will pass approximately 3,900 rural addresses. These announcements are the latest in a series of investments Comcast has made over the last three years to extend broadband internet to almost 9,000 addresses in unserved areas in the Commonwealth.