Expansion increases access to Ethernet, Internet, Advanced Voice and Cloud Services
July 25, 2017 – Comcast Business announced today that it has expanded its advanced network to reach nearly 50 businesses in the Mercury Drive Industrial Area, located in Champaign near the intersection of Olympia Drive and Market Street (Route 21). Now that the buildout is complete, Comcast will be able to expand access to its high-speed Internet, advanced voice and cloud-based services in the area.
“Making Comcast’s fiber readily available and bringing its enhanced broadband service to the Mercury Drive Industrial Area will help businesses there compete with businesses outside the region and in larger metropolitan areas,” said District 5 Champaign County Board Member, Max Mitchell. “Fast, robust Internet service will allow local businesses to tap into the latest technologies and help them better serve their customers and even expand.”
Comcast Business’s network expansion will give small, medium and large businesses in the area wider access to Internet speeds of up to 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps) – and up to 100 Gbps on a case-by-case basis – along with a wide range of services, including Ethernet, Internet, Advanced Voice and value-added cloud services. In addition, with the fiber in place already as a result of the network expansion, Comcast can bring new customers online more quickly.
“Our network provides increased bandwidth and that means more businesses can do more with their IT resources, like access more applications and services in the cloud, accommodate rapidly increasing numbers of employees in the field using mobile devices and exchange large amounts of data with business partners,” said Jay Dirkmaat, regional vice president of Comcast Business. “Comcast already has an extensive coaxial and fiber network in Champaign-Urbana and throughout Illinois, and we’ve been expanding it significantly through strategic proactive investments designed to help spur economic growth in emerging and growing business corridors.”
In addition to the new fiber, Comcast offers a service that provides 1 Gbps download speeds to homes and businesses over the company’s existing network lines, which launched in Illinois – including Champaign-Urbana – in August 2016. In addition, the company offers Gigabit Pro, a fiber-based residential service that provides 2 Gbps of speed.
The extent of Comcast’s network in the Champaign-Urbana area and in other locations also has made it possible for the company to build the largest WiFi network in the nation. Xfinity WiFi includes 17 million WiFi hot spots in locations across the country, with more than 1.6 million in Comcast’s Greater Chicago Region (which includes Central Illinois) and around 16,000 in the Champaign-Urbana area. Comcast has placed hotspots in or adjacent to locations ranging from restaurants, retail stores, salons and doctors’ offices to parks and universities, according to Dirkmaat. In 2015, Comcast completed a special WiFi project In Champaign-Urbana, installing more than 160 hotspots around Campustown and downtown. Xfinity WiFi provides customers with access to the Internet and their content on the go and helps promote business, tourism, recreation and other economic activity.
About Comcast Business
Comcast Business, a unit of Comcast Cable, provides advanced communication solutions to help organizations of all sizes meet their business objectives. Through a next-generation network that is backed by 24/7 technical support, Comcast delivers Business Internet, Ethernet, TV and a full portfolio of Voice services for cost-effective, simplified communications management. For more information, call (866) 429-3085. Follow Comcast Business on Twitter @ComcastBusiness and on other social media networks.
With more than 7,000 local employees, Comcast’s Greater Chicago Region serves customers in Central and Northern Illinois, including the Chicago area, Northwest Indiana and Southwest Michigan. “Like” Comcast’s Greater Chicago Region on Facebook by visiting @Comcast. “Follow” Comcast’s Greater Chicago Region on Twitter at @ComcastILLINOIS.
