Comcast’s commitment to keep families connected
As a Connecticut parent working remotely and supporting the daily activities of my daughters, I know firsthand the extreme challenges of 2020 and the importance of dependable high-speed connectivity. At Comcast, we understand our number one job is to keep our customers connected — to families and friends, workplaces, schools, and the latest news and information. We also appreciate the importance of making the facts clear to our fellow citizens.
Consumers have many options when choosing connectivity and entertainment services, and we compete every day with other providers by delivering the most compelling offerings available in Connecticut. Our employees have been committed to ensuring our network operates at peak performance to help customers navigate this unprecedented time, notably maintaining and restoring services during extreme weather events like Tropical Storm Isaias. Since the onset of the pandemic, our local network teams have tripled network augmentations, installed hardware, and upgraded systems to expand capacity so we are continually meeting the growing needs of our customers.
As we have done since the beginning of COVID-19, we will continue — through June 2021— to provide free internet service for the first 60 days to new customers who sign up for Internet Essentials, our low-cost broadband program for eligible low-income individuals, including free access to 1.5 million-plus public Xfinity WiFi hotspots and low-cost, subsidized computers.
Comcast is an integral partner to Gov. Ned Lamont’s Everybody Learns Initiative to help provide free athome internet service for students across the state, and we are collaborating with the Connecticut Department of Education to provide Interest Essentials to even more low-income families. In November, we also awarded grants totaling $40,000 and donated hundreds of laptops to the VA Connecticut Healthcare System and Easterseals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut to support digital inclusion efforts for our community’s low-income veterans.
The internet infrastructure in Connecticut is a source of strength despite unprecedented network demands, and our investments in our network are ongoing to provide the best, most reliable services. This includes working to manage rising programming costs — notably broadcast TV and sports carriage costs we incur and do not fully recover — which continue to be the biggest factors driving price increases for all content distributors and their customers, not just for Comcast. We look forward to continually deliver the best, most reliable broadband service and the flexibility to choose our industry-leading video platform with X1 or the highest quality streaming product with Flex, the only free streaming TV device with voice remote that’s included with broadband service.
Separately, we are expanding our Xfinity Internet data plan, under which a very small percentage of customers (about 5 percent) use over 1.2 terabytes (TB) of monthly data, with no impacts to any customers until at least April 2021, reflected in May bills. This is a massive amount of data which is why such a small percentage of our customers ever use more. It’s the equivalent of about 3,500 hours of videoconferencing or nearly 1,200 hours of distance learning videos per month. Throughout the pandemic, with usage at higher levels, our customers’ median data use per month is 308GB or about 25 percent of 1.2TB.
About 95 percent of our customers use less data and aren’t impacted by this plan. For the very small percentage of customers who use more than 1.2TB, we will provide credits during the months of January, February and March following the introduction of the plan so they can better understand their usage. They will also have unlimited data options at reduced prices. Customers who approach the threshold will receive multiple notifications, and we provide all with the ability to track data usage at any time using our apps and X1 platform.
Above all, Comcast remains passionate about strengthening our communities and making a positive impact. In 2019, we invested $5 million in cash and in-kind contributions to support non-profit programs across Connecticut and have no intention of slowing down. We look forward to launching seven WiFi-connected “Lift Zones” in community centers across Hartford, New Haven and Waterbury to provide free connectivity and access to educational and digital skills content. We will continue to identify other cities and organizations across our state where we can launch even more Lift Zones, as well as other support to make a lasting impact for Connecticut.
We are committed to providing a superior experience and will continue to earn our customers’ business every day.
Dennis Mathew is the regional senior vice president of Comcast, Western New England. Editors’ note: This op-ed is in response to a commentary by the state Energy and Technology Committee Leadership, which was published Saturday in Hearst Connecticut Media daily newspapers.