Comcast is helping communities across McHenry County meet their current and future connectivity needs and close the digital divide
McHenry County doesn’t need expensive, complex plans to meet its current and future connectivity needs or close the digital divide. The solutions are already in place:
- The communities Comcast serves in McHenry are “Gigabit Cities.” Comcast’s network reaches all the residential neighborhoods in the communities we serve in the county, giving them access to Gigabit+-speed broadband Internet service, as well as our digital equity programs.
- 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 McHenry County.
- Federal Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) dollars have made it possible for McHenry School District 15 to purchase computers and Internet service and provide them for free to eligible households in the district.
Gigabit+ service in McHenry County
Comcast has nearly 4,500 miles of fiber-rich network infrastructure in McHenry County. 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 55,000 WiFi hotspots in McHenry County and more than 20 million 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 – $1.4 billion over the last three years in Illinois alone – to deliver an even greater customer experience, increase reliability and 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. These investments made it possible for Comcast to accommodate a 32% growth in upstream traffic and 11% growth in downstream traffic during the height of the pandemic. We invest in our network continually to make sure we meet the current and future needs of all the households we serve, regardless of zip code.
- Last year, Comcast extended its fiber and brought Internet speeds up to 100 Gbps and a suite of advanced business services to the Huntley Corporate Park, a 240-acre business park located alongside Interstate 90. Giving businesses 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 10-year, $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 1.3 million Illinois residents access the Internet at home since it was launched in 2011. During the pandemic, we began a partnership with McHenry School District 15 to provide Internet Essentials for free to eligible district households that weren’t already connected.
Comcast is participating in the ACP, which provides eligible low-income households a credit up to $30 a month toward the cost of Internet and mobile service, including all of Comcast’s Xfinity Internet and Xfinity Mobile plans, as well as Internet Essentials. In addition, school districts and libraries can apply for federal ECF awards to provide computers and support bringing programs like Internet Essentials to low-income households that aren’t already connected to the Internet. McHenry School District 15 has already received ECF funds to support programs to close the digital divide.
We’re part of your community
Comcast is proud to serve McHenry County. 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.