Comcast increases internet download speeds

CHICAGO - Comcast is increasing download speeds for some of its most popular Xfinity internet tiers for customers in its Greater Chicago region.

Download speeds for the company's Performance tier will jump from 60 to 100 Mbps; Blast! will jump from 150 to 200 Mbps; Extreme will jump from 250 to 300 Mbps; and Extreme Pro will jump from 400 to 600 Mbps.

More than 85 percent of Comcast's internet customers in the region subscribe to one of these tiers and will have their download speeds upgraded, whether they purchase Xfinity internet on a stand-alone basis or as part of a package. Over the past two years, regional Comcast subscribers on average have seen their speed increased by more than 50 percent.

The speed increases are the latest in a series of moves by Comcast to support growing consumer demand for fast, high-capacity internet connections that can not only handle the explosion of connected devices that are powering the smart home, but also offer a single platform to manage and protect them.

Over the next several weeks, customers who lease a gateway will automatically receive the new speeds without having to reset their modems. Other customers who purchased their own modems should check online to see if they need a new device that is capable of handling these faster speeds (http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/).