Comcast to Launch Ethernet Services in Vermont to Provide Businesses, Schools, Hospitals and Other Organizations with the Bandwidth to Support Cloud, Mobility and Business Continuity Applications

BURLINGTON, Vt., March 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company, today announced that its Ethernet services will be available in the coming weeks across six communities in Chittenden County, Vermont. Targeted for businesses with more than 20 employees, these services provide access to the company's next-generation fiber network and speeds up to 10 Gbps, and offer a better choice for businesses, schools, hospitals and other organizations requiring more bandwidth or the need to connect multiple locations.

As the most populated county in Vermont, the Chittenden County area has formed a thriving business community that is only expected to grow and strengthen over time as companies are started, expanded or relocated there. These six towns in northwest Vermont feature a large number of the state's businesses, ranging from world famous snowboard manufacturers to global high technology companies and others that would benefit from reliable, high-capacity Ethernet services. Comcast made significant investments to extend its fiber network and expand the availability of its Ethernet services in these communities in an effort to support local businesses and to provide office parks and industrial centers with an additional choice for their tenants for Internet access and network connectivity.

"A key to attracting businesses and jobs to Vermont is ensuring we have world-class broadband connectivity to match our world-class quality of life," said Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin. "Comcast's expansion of its fiber network and new Ethernet services in Chittenden County represents just the sort of private investment, by multiple companies in areas throughout our state, which is bringing Vermont the quality Internet services we need to spur economic development. I very much appreciate Comcast's continued focus on improving and expanding its service in Vermont."

All of Comcast's Ethernet services are delivered over its next-generation, all-IP network that spans 140,000 miles across 39 states and the District of Columbia, and serves 20 of the top 25 U.S. markets. Completely diverse from any telecom networks, Comcast's network features a 100 Gbps backbone and pervasive, fiber-rich reach into its markets with an expanded local footprint through Ethernet over HFC. Bandwidth is available up to 10 Gbps and can be remotely scaled in increments and offered in three different classes of service, backed by strict service level agreements and monitored 24x7x365 from Comcast's dedicated Network Operations Centers. Comcast is the first service provider in North America to offer Metro Ethernet Forum CE 2.0 certified Ethernet services and was also the first service provider to achieve all three of the previous CE 1.0 certifications (MEF 9, 14 and 18).

"The fiber-rich network behind our Ethernet services offers local businesses a reliable, cost-effective and secure solution for their data needs," said Charlie Tzoumas, Vice President for Comcast Business Services in the Western New England Region, which includes Vermont. "Analysts have confirmed that Ethernet has already surpassed T1 and other legacy services as the preferred technology for businesses, just as broadband replaced dial-up modems on the residential side, and our Ethernet platform offers a diverse array of choices to help companies select the exact type of connectivity that is right for them."

Comcast offers four Ethernet Services, including:

• Ethernet Private Line Service – point-to-point connectivity between two customer sites for bandwidth-intensive applications.

• Ethernet Virtual Private Line Service – a point-to-multipoint connection that allows customers to tailor bandwidth, performance characteristics and cost to meet the needs of their applications.

• Ethernet Network Service – multipoint-to-multipoint connectivity to connect organizations with high-bandwidth requirements and multiple locations across Comcast's network.

• Ethernet Dedicated Internet Access Service – continuous, high-bandwidth connectivity between customers' LANs and the public Internet.

Comcast Ethernet services are currently available across the country. For more information, visit http://business.comcast.com/enterprise. Comcast will be hosting a special event in association with the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce and Vermont Business Magazine to celebrate the launch of Ethernet in Vermont on April 16, 2013, from 8-10 a.m. ET at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington. The featured speaker for this free breakfast and networking event will be CNBC Anchor Bill Griffeth, and more details and registration information can be found by visiting www.comcast-breakfast.com. 

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 modern, converged fiber-rich network that is backed by 24/7 technical support, Comcast delivers Business Internet, TV and Voice services for cost-effective, simplified communications management.

Launched in 2011, the Comcast Business Ethernet suite offers high-performance point-to-point and multi-point Metro Ethernet services with the capacity to deliver cloud computing, software-as-a-service, business continuity/disaster recovery and other bandwidth-intensive applications. Comcast Metro Ethernet services are significantly faster than standard T1 lines and other legacy technologies, providing scalable bandwidth from 1 Mbps up to 10 Gigabits-per-second (Gbps) in more than 20 major US markets.

For more information, call 866-429-3085 or visit http://business.comcast.com/enterprise. 

Follow us on Twitter @ComcastBusiness and on other social media networks at http://business.comcast.com/social.

About Comcast Cable

Comcast Cable is the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone provider to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses.  Comcast has invested in technology to build an advanced network that delivers among the fastest broadband speeds, and brings customers personalized video, communications and home management offerings.  Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and technology company.  Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

Media Contacts:

Maria-Christina Kolodziej
Davies Murphy Group
781.418.2424
[email protected]

Laura Brubaker Crisco
Comcast
860.505.3445
[email protected]

SOURCE Comcast Corporation