Comcast completes fiber optic network project in portion of New Haven

NEWHAVEN» Cable television giant Comcast has completed a $1.7 million project that will expand the availability of ultra high speed Internet via fiber optics in a portion of the city’s downtown.

The expansion covers the area between Tower Lane and State Street, Comcast officials in Connecticut said Tuesday. More than a halfdozen businesses already have signed up for the service, which also is available to businesses on Church, Orange, Audubon, Elm and Temple streets.

Fiber optic networks use glass or plastic threads, also known as fibers, to transmit data at a high rate of speed.

The Comcast network for businesses delivers Internet speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second. At that speed, a two-hour movie file could be downloaded in 8 seconds, according to Fast metrics, a San Francisco-based Internet service provider.

New Haven Mayor Toni Harp said reliable, highspeed Internet service will help “transform New Haven in the near future the way running water, electricity and telephone service transformed the city in their day.”

“I’m grateful to Comcast for its investment in this recent technological upgrade downtown,” Harp said. “Going forward, widespread access to high-speed service will buoy the business climate in New Haven and help bridge a persistent, debilitating digital divide in the city, all to the benefit of future vitality.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, said investments in ultra high speed Internet such as the one made by Comcast “will enhance New Haven’s competitive edge in attracting new jobs to the region.”