Comcast's Completion of Chicago Region's $350-Million Broadband Network Upgrade Puts Viewers in Control
ON DEMAND, Digital Video Recorders, HDTV and Comcast High-Speed Internet Available to Many Chicagoland Customers - Just in Time for the Holidays
CHICAGO, Dec. 14 Just in time for the holiday gift-giving season, viewers in Chicagoland will soon have access to unprecedented control of what and when they watch television. Customers will also have the ability to put the Internet to work for them in fun and exciting ways. The future of television and broadband is now, as Comcast today announced the completion of its $350 million broadband network upgrade.
As a result of the upgrade, Comcast customers will have access to ON DEMAND and Digital Video Recorders to control their television viewing like never before, and High Speed Internet with download speeds of up to 4Mbps, plus outstanding online content and features.
"The days of 'appointment television' are over. With ON DEMAND and DVRs, Comcast home entertainment is all about customization, and watching what you want, when you want," said Joseph Stackhouse, Comcast senior vice president for the Greater Chicago Region. "Our DVRs are much more affordable than competitive products, like TiVo -- we don't charge for the box itself, and the monthly service charge is lower. And ON DEMAND is a value-add service that makes Comcast Digital Cable a more attractive, robust service than any satellite company could provide."
Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) will be available to everyone in the Greater Chicago Region in early 2005, allowing customers to digitally record up to 40 hours of programming to watch and re-watch shows on their schedules. DVRs will be available for only $9.95 a month. And Comcast's dual-tuner DVRs make it possible to record one show while you watch another, or record two shows simultaneously.
Comcast Digital Cable customers automatically have access to ON DEMAND, available in many areas currently but with total distribution by early 2005. ON DEMAND offers thousands of programs from a wide variety of cable networks - as well as a growing library of new-release and favorite films - most at no additional cost. Video-on-demand technology is not available from satellite companies.
"People are busier than ever, and television and movies at home are among the best ways to relax -- especially when you can choose your own programming," said Stackhouse.
Also as a result of the upgrade, for the first time, all Greater Chicago Region consumers now have access to a broadband high-speed Internet connection. Comcast High-Speed Internet offers everyone in the region the Internet's richest selection of multimedia content like never before. The lightning-fast Internet connection is 100 percent pure broadband, featuring a host of included services such as Video Mail, that allows the sender to send a 45-second video message without clogging his or the recipient's hard drive with large files, and The Fan(TM) a free multimedia player built in to Comcast High-Speed Internet.
Comcast High-Speed Internet is delivered to customers' homes via our broadband network, and customers can talk on the phone and surf the Internet simultaneously. Customers also can watch cable television while using the service. The service is "always-on"; customers aren't required to dial-up to access the Internet.
"We are proud to be the first to offer broadband high-speed Internet throughout the Greater Chicago Region," said Stackhouse. "The fast broadband connection will allow Comcast customers to enjoy their hobbies -- from gaming and downloading music to online shopping and chatting -- more than ever before."
More than 10,000 miles of upgraded broadband networks and newly constructed routing centers will increase the reliability of all of Comcast services in the Chicagoland area. Most importantly, the upgrade will allow the company the ongoing ability to offer new products and services to almost 4.2 million homes.
"Our employees have worked very hard completing this upgrade over the past two years to ensure that Comcast offers not only fast and reliable service to Chicago, but also the latest in home entertainment technology," Stackhouse said.
ABOUT COMCAST CABLE
Headquartered in Philadelphia, Comcast Cable is a division of Comcast Corporation, a developer, manager and operator of broadband cable networks and provider of programming content. Operating in 17 of the United States' 20 largest metropolitan areas, Comcast is one of the leading communications, media and entertainment companies in the world. Providing basic cable, digital cable, high-speed Internet and telephone services, Comcast Cable is the company to look to first for the communications products and services that connect people to what's important in their lives. The company's 55,000 employees, in six divisions, serve more than 21 million customers.
Comcast Cable serves more than 1.7 million customers in the Greater Chicago region. Comcast, whose regional offices are located in Schaumburg, Ill., employs more than 4,700 people in Illinois, Northwest Indiana and Southwest Michigan.
