Comcast Adds Metro Ethernet Connections to U.S. Markets

Comcast has recently made a grand entrance into the medium-size commercial business division by rolling out metro Ethernet services to over 20 markets throughout the United States.

In the past, this major cable operator had targeted its commercial services to businesses with fewer than 20 employees. By bringing the metro Ethernet connections, however, they are now able to offer up to 10-Gigabit speed to companies of as many as 500 employees.

CEDMagazine.com states that 20 major markets in the U.S. will receive four metro Ethernet-based services through Comcast’s IP and fiber-optic network in their metropolitan areas. These areas include the following: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Harrisburg, PA, Hartford, CT, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, FL, Miami, Nashville, New Jersey (state), Oakland, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and finally, western New England.

Additionally, Comcast is planning to introduce even more metro Ethernet services to more markets at some point in the future. Their new implementation is cost-effective, allowing them to guarantee scalable and flexible bandwidth for business continuity, software-as-service, automating the business process, and cloud computing.

Bill Stemper, president of Comcast Business Services, claims that “our fiber-rich network powers our metro Ethernet services and provides a secure, reliable and cost-effective solution for mid-size businesses’ data needs.” He continues by saying, “Metro Ethernet is quickly overtaking T1 and other legacy services as the preferred technology for business communications. Just as broadband supplanted dial-up in consumers’ homes, our new metro Ethernet services are designed to help businesses compete and win using our fast and scalable digital platform.”

Comcast’s service offerings will include Ethernet Network Service, Ethernet Private Line Service, Ethernet Virtual Private Line Service, and Ethernet Dedicated Internet Access Service. By introducing these services, Comcast hopes that medium-sized customers will one day drop their current telecom providers and leave the competitors.

In the words of Comcast Business Services’ senior vice president of product management and strategy, “I think our last mile is an incredible, unique asset, and the more ways that we can come up with to take advantage of that to meet the needs of small- and medium-size businesses, the better off we’ll be. That is where you’ll see us continue to focus a lot of energy.” (RP) Link