Comcast said this week that it will spend nearly $33 million to extend its network in two communities in Oregon and Utah, a move that is expected to bring about 23,000 additional homes and businesses under the Xfinity service umbrella.
In Utah, Comcast said it will expand service to more than 18,000 homes and businesses in Eagle Mountain City over the next four years. The cost of the project will be about $22 million and will not use any public funds.
“Giving our residents another choice for cable and internet services improves the quality of life for our residents,” Eagle Mountain City mayor Tom Westmoreland said in a press release. “We look forward to welcoming Comcast into our community.”
Service is expected to become available to parts of the community beginning in early 2023 and will include cable, mobile and broadband services. Broadband speeds will range from its $9.95 per month Internet Essentials offering to its ultra-high speed 1 Gigabit per second service.
Businesses in the area also will be able to take advantage of Comcast Ethernet, internet, advanced voice and video services, WiFi and managed enterprise solutions as a result of the expansion.
"We are committed to supporting Utah’s growth plans by building infrastructure and bringing high-speed broadband to meet the state’s next-generation capacity needs,” Comcast Mountain West region VP, Network Engineering Bryan Thomas said in a press release. “Our fiber expansion in Eagle Mountain is the latest example of the significant investments we've already made in the state. Since 2019, we’ve invested $881 million in technology and infrastructure capital expenditures, taxes and fees, employee wages and benefits, and charitable giving.”
In Oregon, Comcast said it plans to expand its network to about 5,000 homes and businesses in Silverton. The $10.6 million project will allow residents to access Xfinity residential and commercial services.
Comcast said over the past three years it has invested more than $500 million in Oregon to improve the network, support the community, and ensure residents, students and businesses remain connected to the internet during the pandemic. The Silverton expansion is part of a broader plan to bring Comcast’s network to more Oregonians.
“Comcast operates with the fundamental belief that connecting people to the power of broadband technology can be life changing,” regional senior VP of Comcast Oregon/SW Washington David Tashjian said in a press release. “That’s why we are committed to bridging the digital divide for Oregon/SW Washington residents – not only with our network expansions and investments, but also with our lnternet Essentials program, which brings fast, affordable internet to those who need it most.”
He added the moves are strategic and that the company is “exploring expansions into additional communities adjacent to our footprint.”
Construction is slated to begin in the early spring with building the fiber backbone. Some customers will be able to connect to services in late 2022, with completion of the network throughout Silverton in 2023.
“I know there’s a lot of interest in Comcast,” Silverton Mayor Kyle Palmer said in a press release. “As a mayor, I want to have more choices, and I want residents to have better choices, and I want to have fewer people bugging me all the time saying they’re upset at their service.”
Last year Comcast said it would commit $1 billion over ten years in continued support of digital equity, including its Lift Zones initiative, which has established WiFi-connected spaces in 25 community centers around Oregon/SW Washington for students and adults.
Comcast Oregon/SW Washington has more than 1,000 employees who serve more than one million residential and business customers throughout the state. ■
