Comcast Announces $4.2M Rural Broadband Investment in Whatcom County

What’s the news?

We’re expanding our service to hundreds of homes in the City of Sumas, a rural community of Whatcom County. Over the next two years, Comcast will invest $4.2 million, to bring the entire suite of Xfinity and Comcast Business services to the citizens and businesses of Sumas. The planned network expansion is the latest example of the company’s investment made in Washington state. Comcast has invested over $990 million in capital expenditures in Washington over the past three years, including investments in the company’s network.

Why is this important?

Leaders in Washington, including Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, Senator Doug Ericksen and City of Sumas Mayor Kyle Christensen have this to say…

• “This is welcome news for Sumas residents, especially in a world where we are increasingly reliant on a broadband connection to work, learn, and teach. Washington has some of the world’s largest technology companies but too many residents still don’t have affordable and reliable internet access. Bold investments like these will help families during this difficult time and beyond” – Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01)
• “Thank you to Mayor Christensen and to the City Council in Sumas for working with Comcast to bring high speed internet infrastructure to the people of Sumas. America was built by private sector innovation and private sector innovation will continue to lead in building a better Washington State for all of us” – Senator Doug Ericksen, 42^nd Legislative District
• “We are very excited to have Comcast coming to Sumas. They provide quality services and have a solid infrastructure. This will be a big benefit to our residents and businesses” – Kyle Christensen, Mayor, City of Sumas

How will local consumers and businesses benefit?

Sumas residents will have access to the entire Xfinity product suite, including Xfinity Internet, Xfinity Mobile, Xfinity X1, Xfinity Home and Internet Essentials, the largest and most comprehensive low-cost Internet adoption program for low-income Americans. Since 2011, Comcast has connected 560,000 low-income individuals statewide to broadband internet over the last decade, including 15,200 residents in Whatcom County. The Sumas businesses community will have access to the full suite of Comcast Business Internet, voice, and video services, including WiFi, Voice, TV and managed enterprise solutions for businesses of all sizes.

We’re pleased to invest in our infrastructure in Whatcom County and excited to expand our network to the City of Sumas,” said Rodrigo Lopez, Region Senior Vice President, Comcast Washington. “As connectivity becomes ever more important, we’re working hard to expand our smart, reliable network that delivers fast Internet speeds for customers to browse, videoconference, stream and game.”