Comcast, the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications products and services, today announced it is making the leap from broadband to wideband with the launch of next-generation DOCSIS 3.0 in Greater Chicago.  With wideband, Comcast will introduce a new echelon of Internet speed tiers, which will redefine the customer experience online and create a platform for Internet innovation in the years ahead.

Beginning next week, Comcast’s new services will be available to residential homes throughout Chicago’s northern and northwestern suburbs, including northern Cook County, Lake County, McHenry County and the northern edge of Kane County.  From Arlington Heights to the North Shore to Waukegan, customers will soon be surfing the web even faster.  The faster speeds will be available in the city of Chicago, its western and southern Chicago suburbs and northwestern Indiana in the first half of 2009.  Comcast will also introduce new faster tiers and increased speeds for most of its Chicagoland business customers in the coming months.

With wideband, Comcast will offer among the fastest speeds available today, including the Extreme 50 tier with download speeds of up to 50 Mbps.  Wideband will also enable Comcast to double speeds for the majority of existing high-speed Internet customers at no additional cost.

“Wideband utilizes our fiber-optic network that is already in the ground in neighborhoods across our footprint.   With this next generation of service, our customers’ online experience is dramatically enhanced,” said Steve Reimer, Senior Vice President of Comcast’s Greater Chicago Region. “And this is just the beginning.   Wideband, combined with our fiber-optic network, gives us the capability of meeting the needs of our customers for many years to come by offering even faster speeds in the future.”

As part of the wideband deployment, Comcast will launch two new premium speed tiers to its residential customers.  Both new services are ideal for households simultaneously using several computers or Internet-connected devices.  They also will appeal to those who simply want some of the fastest speeds available today:

New Residential Tiers

• Extreme 50, offering up to 50 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 10 Mbps of upstream speed at $139.95/month.* 
• Ultra, offering up to 22 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 5 Mbps of upstream speed at $62.95/month.*

With Extreme 50, Comcast customers will be able to download a high-definition movie (6 GB) in about 16 minutes, a standard-definition movie (2 GB) in about five minutes and a standard-definition TV show (300 MB) in a matter of seconds.  Customers with Extreme 50 also will be able to download digital photos, songs and games faster than ever.

In addition to the new speed tiers, Comcast also is increasing speeds for most of its existing customers.

• Most Performance tier customers will benefit from doubled downstream and upstream speeds, offering up to 12 Mbps and 2 Mbps, respectively.
• Most Performance Plus customers will be upgraded to Comcast’s Blast! tier, which will double their download speeds to up to 16 Mbps and provide up to 2 Mbps of upload speed.
• Most Blast! customers will be upgraded to the new Ultra tier, which will increase their downstream speeds from 16 to up to 22 Mbps and increase their upstream speeds from 2 Mbps to up to 5 Mbps.**

Plus, with PowerBoost® technology, customers are able to enjoy even faster speeds to download and upload files such as videos, games, music and photos.

To find out when wideband will be available customers can visit www.comcast.com/fastestfast or call
1-888-COMCAST.
*Pricing for residential customers and requires subscription to Comcast Cable service.
** A small number of customers will require a new modem or router to receive 22 Mbps speeds.

About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (www.comcast.com) is the nation's leading provider of entertainment, information and communication products and services. With 24.4 million cable customers, 14.7 million high-speed Internet customers, and 6.1 million Comcast Digital Voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, ten Comcast SportsNet networks and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet businesses, including Comcast.net (www.comcast.net). Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.

Comcast’s Greater Chicago Region, based in Schaumburg, Illinois, serves more than 2.1 million customers in several Illinois markets, including Chicago, Peoria, Springfield, Champaign, Rockford and Quincy, as well as South Bend, Indiana.  Comcast employs more than 7,900 local residents across the region.