Comcast Completes Roll Out of Extreme 50 Mbps High-Speed Internet Service Across Massachusetts

BOSTON and SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast, one of the nation's leading providers of entertainment, information and communications products and services, today announced that it has completed its evolution from broadband to wideband across the Bay State, with the launch of next-generation DOCSIS 3.0 in 11 additional Western Massachusetts communities. With wideband, Comcast is introducing a new echelon of Internet speed tiers, redefining the customer experience online and creating a platform for Internet innovation in the years ahead.

Two new speed tiers are now available to residential homes and businesses in the Western Massachusetts communities of Bernardston, Erving, Gill, Greenfield, Hardwick, Monson, Montague, Northfield, Palmer, Ware and Warren. With these launches, the company now offers wideband in all 238 communities it serves across the Commonwealth.

Comcast offers among the fastest Internet speeds available today with wideband, including the Extreme 50 tier with download speeds of up to 50 Mbps, and the Ultra tier delivering download speeds up to 22 Mbps. Wideband has also enabled Comcast to double speeds for the majority of its existing high-speed Internet customers.

"Wideband utilizes our existing advanced fiber-optic network in neighborhoods across our footprint to dramatically enhance our customers' online experience," said Doug Guthrie, Senior Vice President of Comcast's Western New England Region, which includes Western Massachusetts. "This new service will enable us to continue to offer our customers even faster speeds and an entirely new realm of Internet innovation."

"This is just the beginning," said Steve Hackley, Senior Vice President of Comcast's Greater Boston Region. "Wideband gives us the capability to meet the needs of our customers for many years to come and we're pleased that this launch also allowed us to increase the speeds for a majority of our existing Internet customers."

As part of the wideband deployment, Comcast has launched two new premium speed tiers to its residential and business customers. Both new services are ideal for households or businesses simultaneously using several computers or Internet-connected devices. They also appeal to those who simply want some of the fastest speeds available today:

New Residential Tiers

• Extreme 50, offers up to 50 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 10 Mbps of upstream speed at $99.95 a month.*
• Ultra, offers up to 22 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 5 Mbps of upstream speed at $62.95 a month.*

With Extreme 50, Comcast customers will be able to download a high-definition movie (6 GB) in about 16 minutes, a standard-definition movie (2 GB) in about five minutes and a standard-definition TV show (300 MB) in a matter of seconds. Customers with Extreme 50 also will be able to download digital photos, songs and games faster than ever.

In addition to the new speed tiers, Comcast also is increasing speeds for most of its existing customers:

• Performance tier customers will benefit from doubled downstream and upstream speeds, offering up to 12 Mbps and 2 Mbps, respectively.
• Performance Plus customers will be upgraded to Comcast's Blast! tier, which will double their download speeds to up to 16 Mbps and provide up to 2 Mbps of upload speed.

Plus, with PowerBoost technology, customers are able to enjoy even faster speeds to download and upload files such as videos, games, music and photos.

New Business Class Tiers

Business customers will benefit from wideband with increased efficiency and productivity. Customers can sign up for the Deluxe 50 Mbps / 10 Mbps tier for $189.95 a month, which includes a full suite of features and support. As part of their service, Comcast Business Class customers receive Microsoft Communication Services, providing corporate class e-mail, calendaring and document sharing, as well as additional benefits such as firewall protection, static IP addresses, multiple e-mail addresses and business class 24/7 customer support. Existing Business Class customers also will receive speed increases - speeds on the Starter tier will be doubled to up to 12 Mbps / 2 Mbps - and a new Premium Tier will also be introduced, offering speeds up to 22 Mbps / 5 Mbps for $99.95 a month.

Wideband technology has now been deployed in all 238 communities that Comcast serves across Massachusetts. As of the end of September, Comcast has rolled out the new wideband speeds to 65 percent of its footprint across the nation, meaning that more than 33 million homes and business can now enjoy one of the fastest Internet services in the country.

For more information on Comcast's wideband services, customers can call 1-800-COMCAST or visit www.comcast.com/fastestfast.

* Pricing for residential customers and requires subscription to Comcast Cable service.

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (www.comcast.com) is one of the nation's leading providers of entertainment, information and communication products and services. With 23.8 million cable customers, 15.7 million high-speed Internet customers and 7.4 million Comcast Digital Voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, ten sports networks operated by Comcast Sports Group and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet businesses, including Comcast.net (www.comcast.net). Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, which owns two professional sports teams, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, and a large, multipurpose arena in Philadelphia, the Wachovia Center, and manages other facilities for sporting events, concerts and other events.

Comcast's New England regions serve 2.6 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut and New York and employ nearly 7,000 individuals.

SOURCE Comcast Cable