Comcast Business announced last week that it has expanded its advanced network infrastructure in Downtown Park Forest, adding a half mile of fiber optic cable along Forest Blvd, Victory Drive, Main Street and Liberty Drive. The expansion, which will bring Comcast’s network to more than 100 additional area businesses, is designed to help boost the local economy and make the downtown even more attractive to businesses, residents and visitors.
With the build complete, Comcast Business can provide small, medium and large businesses in Downtown Park Forest access to Internet speeds of up to 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps) – and up to 100 Gbps on a case-by-case basis – along with a wide range of advanced services, including Ethernet, Internet, Advanced Voice and value-added cloud solutions. In addition, Comcast Business will be able to bring new customers along the path of the expansion online more quickly.
“Part of the Village’s economic development strategy is to attract more state-of-the-art services to downtown and make them available to local businesses,” said Tom Mick, Park Forest Village Manager. “Thanks to Comcast’s investment, and a collaborative effort between Downtown Park Forest Property Manager Heather Jones and Comcast, Park Forest’s downtown businesses will now have access to technologies that will help them compete locally, regionally and nationally.”
“Access to advanced technology drives economic growth,” said Jeff Cobb, Regional Vice President of Comcast Business. “In addition, advanced technology, faster Internet speeds and advanced services will help businesses serve customers remotely and support growing numbers of employees working in the field and at home.”
Additional advanced Comcast Business services available to Downtown Park Forest businesses as a result of the network expansion include:
- ActiveCoreSM SDN, a software-defined networking (SDN) platform providing businesses intelligent, centralized control for their networks via software applications like Managed Router and SD-WAN;
- Cybersecurity Services, reducing vulnerability to denial of service (DDoS) attacks and helping protect business infrastructure with managed security solutions; and
- Comcast Business VoiceEdgeTM, a fully managed, scalable cloud-based voice system providing unified communications (UC) tools that can improve communication, enhance collaboration and help businesses increase productivity.
Comcast also offers an Internet service up to 1 Gbps download speeds to homes and businesses across Park Forest using a technology called “Docsis 3.1.” Launched regionally in August 2016, Comcast provides the service using the company’s existing network.
“ As we move Park Forest forward we must attract new industries while retaining our businesses and the addition of services by Comcast in the downtown is just the beginning to becoming one of the most connected communities in Illinois,” said Park Forest Mayor Jonathan Vanderbilt.
About Comcast Business
Comcast Business offers Ethernet, Internet, Wi-Fi, Voice, TV and Managed Enterprise Solutions to help organizations of all sizes transform their business. Powered by an advanced network, and backed by 24/7 customer support, Comcast Business is one of the largest contributors to the growth of Comcast Cable. Comcast Business is the nation’s largest cable provider to small and mid-size businesses and has emerged as a force in the Enterprise market; recognized over the last two years by leading industry associations as one of the fastest growing providers of Ethernet services. For more information, call 866-429-3085. Follow on Twitter @Comcast Business and on other social media networks at http://business.comcast.com/social.
With around 6,000 local employees, Comcast’s Greater Chicago Region (https://chicago.comcast.com) serves customers in central and Illinois, including the Chicago area, Northwest Indiana and Southwest Michigan. “Like” Comcast’s Greater Chicago Region on Facebook by visiting @Comcast. “Follow” Comcast’s Greater Chicago Region on Twitter at @ComcastIllinois.