Comcast Business and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers today announced a $1.5 million investment to build a major fiber optic network in the Arlington and Marysville area setting the foundation for the growth of business and economic development.
Close to an airport, freeway and affordable land, the build-out of this infrastructure comes at a critical time in the county, including plans for a commercial terminal at Paine Field with connections to major national technology hubs.
“Our partnership with Comcast is of great value for the economic development of our county,” said Dave Somers, Snohomish County Executive. “By targeting the Arlington and Marysville area with this significant investment, we expect to see additional jobs and greater opportunities. Affordable housing and land for businesses in our region are becoming an ever pressing need. Snohomish County is uniquely poised because it has these exact offerings.”
Comcast Market Development Director Tim Klinefelter and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers discuss the project in this two-minute video.
Comcast’s expansion will provide symmetrical speeds up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) allowing companies to build more competitive systems. Since technology businesses and manufacturers are now using more computer power to design, engineer and build, this investment will allow them to better take advantage of opportunities.
Comcast has been building infrastructure throughout the region and is scheduled to invest in multiple projects in Snohomish County, including in Arlington’s proposed Manufacturing Industrial Center. With its headquarters in Snohomish County, Comcast has made a long-term commitment to ensuring its local and national business customers have the best possible communication solutions.
Comcast plans to complete the system by mid-2018.
“We saw a great opportunity to work with Snohomish County and the cities of Arlington and Marysville to take advantage of the proposed Manufacturing Industrial Center,” said Matt Fassnacht, Washington Region Vice President of Comcast Business. “We believe these new capabilities will be of great benefit to businesses, allowing for faster speeds, more time savings, and ultimately more success.”
Snohomish County is the third largest county in Washington and the second fastest growing county in the United States. It is home to the largest manufacturing center in the world (Boeing) and is a top tourist destination.
“Arlington is proud to welcome this new capacity to our proposed Regional Manufacturing Industrial Center,” said Barb Tolbert, Mayor of Arlington. “We are working with partners like Comcast and Snohomish County to build infrastructure to accommodate bringing more jobs to the citizens of north Snohomish County.”
“Everyone in the region will benefit by this significant investment,” said Jon Nehring, Mayor of Marysville. “We will continue to work with those in the private sector who can help us realize our goals of job growth, prosperity, and quality of life.”
Comcast Business serves schools, businesses, hospitals and other organizations that require large amounts of bandwidth, are looking to link multiple locations or branches, or that plan to connect their offices to a third-party data center. Services include: Ethernet Private Line, Ethernet Virtual Private Line, Ethernet Network Service and Ethernet Dedicated Internet.
