Comcast adds fiber optics to Gurnee business center

GURNEE - Comcast has added fiber optics technology to reach businesses in the Grand Tri-Corporate Center in Gurnee, roughly bordered by I-94 on the east, Cemetery Road and Tri-State Parkway on the west, Grand Avenue on the north and Washington Street on the south.

The proactive infrastructure investment will give the more than 20 small- and medium-sized businesses in the park access to internet speeds of up to 10 Gbps, along with a wide range of Comcast Business services, including Ethernet, internet, Voice and value-added cloud services. It will also allow Comcast to install new customers more quickly and could reduce or even eliminate start up costs.

The investment Comcast is making in Gurnee and other locations in Chicago and its suburbs is in response to strong demand for its Comcast Business offerings, and aligns with efforts many communities are making to expand their local telecommunications and information technology infrastructure.

"Comcast's proactive builds and other efforts to expand our network and increase capacity have helped us reach more and more businesses," said Jay Dirkmaat, regional vice president of Comcast Business. "Fiber means increased bandwidth - and increased bandwidth allows businesses to access more and more applications and services in the cloud, accommodate rapidly increasing numbers of employees in the field using mobile devices and exchange large amounts of data, as well as helps them to grow."

Comcast has invested on average $300 million annually in its network over the past 20 years and has built about 11,000 miles of fiber across the greater Chicago region. As part of this investment, Comcast has been adding fiber to reach city and suburban business and industrial corridors and employment hubs.