One year ago, Modesto’s future got brighter with Comcast’s $19 million city-wide network upgrade
Guest Writer: Caluha Barnes, Deputy City Manager
It’s been a little over a year since Comcast Business approached the City of Modesto about expansion of its high-speed network. Recognizing the benefits to both residential and commercial customers, as well as future development opportunities, Modesto staff partnered closely with Comcast to ensure a smooth project and timely completion of all milestones. The network expansion project has made a world of a difference to thousands of businesses throughout downtown and central Modesto. Now, with an improved network backbone, they can reach their full potential while making Modesto the elevated business hub that we know it can be.
As of 2020, Modesto had a population of 218,464 and it is continuing to grow. The COVID-19 pandemic only reinforced the need for a network upgrade that would ensure that Modesto subscribers had the connectivity needed to succeed now and into the future. Comcast Business delivered, investing $19 million into our city and bringing up to 10-Gigabits-per-second (Gbps) Ethernet speeds, plus increased capacity and reliability.
While Modesto had high-speed internet access before the investment, there were key commercial areas and corridors that were not receiving the connectivity necessary to keep up with subscribers’ technologies. Comcast Business was able to improve connectivity in these important areas of Modesto, and thanks to its build-out strategy, it has become much easier for these areas to adopt higher speed connectivity.
Now, Modesto can be more competitive for business in the future. This is critical, especially as businesses continue to pursue remote and hybrid work plans. Our community relies heavily on our local businesses, and it is our goal to support them in any way we can.
Comcast Business saw a huge surge in internet traffic during COVID-19, with a 20-40% increase in streaming and web video consumption. That doesn’t include videoconferencing, which has gone up 210-285%. The investment in Modesto allows remote workers to continue working without feeling a strain on their networks.
We’ve heard from the business community in Modesto that they are thrilled to have access to Comcast Business’ expansion. And this makes sense – the greater capabilities businesses have, the better they are able to perform, which is great for not only their success, but for our city as well.
With greater bandwidth and internet speeds, businesses in Modesto also have the ability to invest in the latest technologies, such as artificial intelligence and cloud-based productivity tools. These offerings are an incentive for data-centric businesses to move into Modesto, as analytics are becoming increasingly necessary to understanding customer needs.
Business owners aren’t the only beneficiaries of the network expansion. Having high-speed connectivity that is accessible, reliable, affordable and easy to adopt appeals to our residents as well – especially those who rely on their networks to work remotely or to supplement their daily lifestyle needs.
With this network upgrade, the future looks bright for Modesto and its community members. Regardless of what comes next, our high-speed network will continue to allow businesses and residents the freedom to connect how they need, whenever they need, making Modesto a desirable destination for living and working.