Comcast’s Greater Chicago Region Increases Residential Internet Speeds for the 13th Year
Comcast increases Xfinity Blast! Internet Service from 50 to 75 Mbps, launches new Extreme 150 tier with download speeds of up to 150 Mbps…
Comcast announced today that the company will increase the download speed of its Blast! high-speed Internet service in its Greater Chicago Region by 50% – to 75 Mbps – for no additional charge. The increase will apply to a significant portion of the 70% of regional customers in Central and Northern Illinois, Northwest Indiana and Southwest Michigan who are in Xfinity Internet service tiers with download speeds of 50 Mbps or greater. The company also announced a new “Extreme 150” Mbps service tier today in the region.
“Comcast already delivers the fastest Internet speeds available in the Greater Chicago Region. Increasing Internet speeds ensures that we’ll continue to meet our customers’ evolving needs,” said John Crowley, Comcast’s Regional Senior Vice President. “Speed increases, along with the addition of WiFi hotspots customers can access on the go throughout the Greater Chicago Region and in locations across the country, add significant value to our Internet service.”
Crowley said that the number of Xfintiy WiFi hotspots in the region is approaching 900,000 and nationwide has surpassed 8 million.
The new Xfintiy Blast! Internet speed and the Extreme 150 tier will be available immediately to the vast majority of new and existing Xfinity customers in the region. Blast! Internet customers may need to restart their modems to access the new speeds. Comcast will notify those customers who need to upgrade their modems to receive the increased speeds. Customers who lease modems from Comcast will receive upgraded modems at no additional charge. A list of approved modems can be found online at http://mydeviceinfo.xfinity.net.
These latest speed increases follow Comcast’s previously announced Gigabit Pro service, a professional-grade residential fiber-to-the-home solution that leverages the company’s fiber network to deliver 2 Gbps upload and download speeds. Gigabit Pro is being introduced in several states, including Illinois, Northwest Indiana and Southwest Michigan. The company also is testing DOCSIS 3.1, a scalable, national, next generation 1 Gbps technology solution and expects to begin rolling out DOCSIS 3.1 in early 2016. When it’s fully deployed, nearly every customer in Comcast’s service area will be able to receive gigabit speeds over our existing fiber and coax network.
In addition to increasing speeds for customers, Comcast continues to offer the fastest wireless gateway, and Xfinity high-speed Internet customers can access Xfinity WiFi hotspots in the region and nationwide for no additional charge by selecting “xfinitywifi” from the list of available networks on their laptops or mobile devices and entering their Xfinity ID or email and password. To locate hotspots, customers can download the Xfinity WiFi App, which is available for free for Android and iOS devices, or visit the hotspot finder map on www.xfinity.com/wifi. Additionally, Comcast provides consumers with tips about how to create the best in-home Wi-Fi experience, out of home Wi-Fi experience and how to shop safely online.