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Comcast Cable Announces New State-of-the-Art Services For Charleston Area Customers to Begin in 1998
New Service Options to Include Digital TV and Comcast@Home High-Speed Internet Access
Telecommunications Services Made Possible by Comcast's Recently Announced Multi-Million Dollar Fiber-Optic Upgrade Project in the Tri-County Area
Up to 50 Professional Telecommunications Jobs to be Created in the Coming Year
Comcast Pledges to Provide Free High-Speed Internet Access Service To Area Schools and Libraries
CHARLESTON, S.C., March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast Cablevision of Carolina today announced that it will begin offering new state-of-the-art services to its customers in the Charleston area in 1998 resulting from the current construction of its new multi-million dollar fiber-optic upgrade project. Comcast Cable will begin offering its customers the additional options and choice of digital television service and the Comcast@Home high-speed Internet access service. The addition of new services will make a positive economic investment in the Charleston area and create up to 50 new professional telecommunications jobs in the coming year.
''We are proud to announce these new ground-breaking services which will make the Charleston area a telecommunications leader throughout the South,'' said Gary Waterfield, General Manager for Comcast Cable in the Charleston area. ''Comcast customers in the Charleston area can look forward to the choice of enjoying the benefits of digital service and Comcast@Home's high- speed Internet service by the end of this year as Comcast continues to remain a major part of the Charleston community, as well as positively influencing Charleston's business and economic development climate,'' added Waterfield.
''The Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce commends Comcast for their innovative advancement in technology and creation of 50 new jobs in the region. It is because of visionary businesses like Comcast that our economy continues to thrive,'' said Anita Zucker, Chamber President and Chairman of the Board.
Comcast@Home High-Speed Internet Access Service
Comcast Cable will offer its Charleston area customers the choice of its Comcast@Home high-speed residential Internet access service in 1998 as a result of the technical platform created by the fiber-optic upgrade project.
''We are proud to offer the fastest Internet access commercially available to residential customers in the Charleston metropolitan area,'' said Gary Waterfield, General Manager for Comcast Cable in the Charleston area. ''Because of the extensive bandwidth of our cable television architecture, Comcast@Home's high-speed Internet access service will add a whole new multimedia dimension to the Internet experience,'' added Waterfield.
Comcast@Home's high-speed Internet access service delivers 24-hour unlimited broadband Internet access and national and local content directly to a user's personal computer via a coaxial cable connection, a cable modem and an industry leading browser. The data transmission speed of the cable modem is up to 50 times faster than traditional Internet service over a telephone line and up to ten times faster than an ISDN line (Integrated Services Digital Network) which transfers data over telephone lines. Faster speed allows customers to more thoroughly enjoy multimedia content, which includes real- time video, audio clips, and 3-D virtual reality images on the Internet. In addition to unlimited Internet access and content, Comcast@Home supplies customers with communications tools such as e-mail and chat rooms, and professionally trained customer service support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Comcast@Home service provides an Internet guide featuring a menu of local community content in addition to the vast Internet content already available. The service will provide customers with an experience enhanced by rich CD-quality audio and real-time video. The @Home Network distributes high-speed interactive content to the home over Comcast's hybrid-fiber coaxial distribution cable platform.
As part of its ongoing commitment to education in the Charleston area, Comcast pledges to provide a free high-speed cable modem and free high-speed Internet access to every private and public school, as well as every public library passed by Comcast's fiber-optic cable in the coming months. The complimentary high-speed Internet access service from Comcast will provide students and teachers in the Charleston area with a unique learning tool and access to information worldwide. This pledge to provide free high-speed Internet access service to schools and libraries is part of Comcast's ongoing commitment to education in the Charleston area. As part of the ''Cable in the Classroom'' program, Comcast Cable provides more than 500 hours of commercial free educational programming each month for use in area schools.
Comcast Digital Television
Comcast's digital television, made possible by the multi-million dollar fiber-optic upgrade, will give Comcast's customers greater choice in receiving state-of-the-art services, including multiple HBO and Cinemax channels, 30 digital commercial-free music channels with CD quality sound, and increased Comcast Home Theater channels (Pay-Per-View) by the end of 1998. Digital television will provide a crystal clear picture with CD quality sound for all programming, as well as an interactive program guide for users. The interactive program guide allows users to easily find specific programs they may be interested in viewing according to program genre, such as family programming, entertainment, movies or sports, just to name a few. The interactive program guide also allows users to find programs according to specific program start times, ratings, and content.
Comcast Cable's new digital television service can deliver more than 130 channels of programming in the Tri-County area in the coming year. The additional digital channels are made possible by the state-of-the-art digital compression technology which creates greater channel capacity. Comcast's digital service will also provide the options of receiving greatly enhanced Pay-Per-View access with multiple Pay-Per-View channels and staggered start times allowing Comcast customers to choose when they want to watch a particular program. In addition to the digital channels created by Comcast's digital service, Comcast's current channel capacity will increase from the current 64 analog channels to 80 analog channels as a result of the fiber- optic upgrade.
Digital television services will also make future interactivity possible between Comcast Cable customers and other businesses and services in the Charleston community. Digital television technology in the future will allow users to contact area schools and universities from home to take classes via the television, parents can learn about activities for students in local schools, and access other valuable information. In addition, Comcast Cable customers will be able to use digital services to play interactive games via their television, as well as shop through their TV in stores, pharmacies, and other shopping outlets. Finally, digital TV will allow users to access interactive services and information from home, such as news and entertainment, changing the way people receive vital information in the future.
Fiber-Optic Upgrade Project
Announced in September 1997, Comcast Cable's multi-million dollar fiber- optic upgrade project continues to proceed on schedule in the Charleston area. Fiber-optic technology is a modern method of transporting information via light waves at a very high rate of speed. The efficiencies of the fiber- optic network allow it to transport signals over greater distances with fewer electronic components, thereby increasing reliability due to less equipment failures. Enhanced picture quality is a result of the physical characteristics of the fiber cable. Fiber-optic cable consists of several hair-like strands of glass which carry light waves.
''Information technology is key to helping our businesses succeed in the 21st Century. Comcast is bringing that technology to our region's residents through high-tech services that are delivered directly to the home or business and are user friendly,'' said Anita Zucker, Chamber President and Chairman of the Board.
Comcast Cablevision serves nearly 100,000 residents in the Tri-County area. Comcast, whose offices are located in North Charleston, employs more than 150 people. In addition, Comcast Cable employs more than 100 contractors for technical and construction support in the Charleston area. Comcast Cable's fiber-optic upgrade project and additional service choices are part of our continuing commitment to retraining our local staff in providing state-of- the-art local services, offering customer service in multiple local offices, and creating local jobs in the Tri-County area. Comcast Cable has the distinction of being recognized as a local cable provider and community partner in the Tri-County area, while also enjoying the support and resources of one of the nation's largest telecommunications companies.
Comcast Corporation is principally engaged in the development, management and operation of wired telecommunications, including cable television and telephone services; wireless telecommunications, including cellular, personal communications services and direct-to-home satellite television; and content, through principal ownership of QVC, the world's premier electronic retailer, through majority ownership of Comcast-Spectacor, through a controlling interest in E! Entertainment Television, and through other programming investments.
Comcast's Class A and Class A Special Common Stock are traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbols CMCSA and CMCSK, respectively. More information on Comcast Corporation can be found on the Company's Web site on the Internet at www.comcast.com. |
