Comcast is helping Gary meet its current and future connectivity needs and close the digital divide
Gary doesn’t need expensive, complex plans or to put a shovel in the ground to meet the city’s current and future connectivity needs or close the digital divide. The solutions are already in place:
- Gary is a “Gigabit City.” Comcast’s network serves all of Gary’s residential neighborhoods, so virtually the entire community has access to Gigabit-speed broadband Internet service. And because Comcast serves all of Gary, our digital equity programs are available to the households across the city that need them.
- The federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) can cover the cost of Internet Essentials, Comcast’s low-cost Internet service for low-income families, and subsidize the cost of Comcast’s and other Internet and mobile plans available in Gary.
Gary is a “Gigabit City”
Comcast’s more than 500 miles of network infrastructure passes virtually every home in Gary, making it a “Gigabit City.” We offer residential download speeds up to 1.2 Gigabits per second (Gbps) and commercial speeds up to 100 Gbps. In addition, we have nearly 18,000 WiFi hotspots in Gary and 22 million nationwide. We offer the same services in Gary as we do in Merrillville and across our footprint nationwide.
We invest in our network to stay ahead of demand, support new technologies and accommodate changing lifestyles
Over the past decade, Comcast has invested $30 billion in technology and network infrastructure nationally – more than $560 million over the last three years in Indiana alone – to deliver an even greater customer experience, increase reliability, increase speeds and double network capacity every 2.5 years to stay ahead of growing demand, an explosion of new devices and technologies and more people than ever working and going to school at home and on the go. We invest in our network continually to make sure we meet the current and future needs of all the households and businesses we serve, regardless of zip code.
- Comcast extended its fiber and brought Internet speeds up to 100 Gbps and a suite of advanced business services to the Melton Road and Ripley Street industrial area in Gary in 2017. Giving business located in existing and emerging business corridors access to these levels of connectivity and technology helps them compete locally, nationally and even internationally and drives economic development.
Comcast has committed $1 billion over the next 10 years to bring about digital equity
Project UP is a comprehensive $1 billion Comcast initiative designed to advance digital equity and help build a future of unlimited possibilities. Internet Essentials, Project UP’s centerpiece, provides low-cost Internet service, digital skills training and subsidized computers to eligible low-income households. Internet Essentials is available to students of all ages from grammar school to college, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities and public housing residents enrolled in public assistance programs, ranging from Medicaid to SNAP. The program has helped more than 650,000 Indiana residents access the Internet at home since it was launched in 2011. During the pandemic, we partnered with three Northern Indiana school districts and not-for-profit organizations to make Internet Essentials available for free in bulk to eligible low-income households with school children.
Comcast is participating in the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides eligible low-income households a credit up to $30 a month toward the cost of Internet and/or mobile service, including all of Comcast’s Xfinity Internet and Xfinity Mobile plans, as well as Internet Essentials.
In addition, in the last five years alone, Comcast has made more than $125,000 in contributions to not-for-profit organizations serving Gary, ranging from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana, the Urban League of Northwest Indiana and the Lake Area United Way, to the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana and the Northwest Indiana Forum.
We’re part of your community
Comcast is proud to serve Gary. We’re more than just your Internet Service Provider. We’re your friends, neighbors and coworkers, and we share a future. For more information, e-mail economic_development@comcast.com.
