Earlier this month, Comcast announced that it had acquired CityNet, a municipally owned and operated broadband, video and voice network that serves over 5,400 residents and businesses in San Bruno, California. Comcast maintains the largest converged network in the United States, with more than 64 million homes and businesses located within close proximity to its network.
The prospective agreement promises to accelerate critical improvements to the city’s existing infrastructure, including important network upgrades that will support multi-gigabit upload and download speeds.
While CityNet’s 5,400 customers represent just a fraction of Comcast’s customer base, the company is committed to retaining those customers, said David Tashjian, regional senior vice president for Comcast California.
“We’re grateful for the chance to serve the San Bruno community and to bring our state-of-the art network and technology to advance the city’s high-speed broadband services,” Tashjian said.
“Comcast’s multi-million-dollar investment and ongoing innovation will bring fast, multi-gigabit symmetrical speeds and superior reliability and security to all residents and businesses, further enhancing the city’s technology capabilities, promoting growth and economic development, and ensuring that residents and businesses have what they need to thrive in the digital age,” he continued.
“We welcome Comcast to our community,” Mayor Rico E. Medina of San Bruno said in a statement. “CityNet serves our community well, but the evolving demands of maintaining and upgrading our network have highlighted the need for a partner with the resources and expertise that Comcast brings.”
CityNet was an idea dreamed in a different era. Established in 1971 as a municipal cable TV provider, CityNet expanded over the decades to offer broadband and voice over internet protocol (“VoIP”) services. However, the costs of maintaining the network had become unsustainable in recent years.
Managing today’s digital infrastructure requires significant resources. The average home using Comcast’s WiFi has over 20 connected devices. Meanwhile, the company detected over 29 billion cybersecurity events across its security customers in 2023.
Comcast expects the transition from CityNet to Xfinity to be complete by the end of 2025. The company will continue to share its plans for the transition on the Xfinity website, where customers can also learn about Comcast services and technologies. Over the next few months, residents should expect to see local Xfinity construction teams in their San Bruno neighborhood preparing for the transition.
Comcast continues to invest in its network. The company has spent nearly $20 billion nationwide on its technology and network over the past five years, including $4 billion in California alone in the past three years.
Comcast’s residential services are marketed under the Xfinity and NOW brands. Customers in San Bruno will soon be able to sign up for Xfinity and NOW products, including internet, video, mobile, voice and home security. Broadband plans with multi-gigabit internet speeds, powerful WiFi, and low lag ensure multi-device households can do bandwidth-heavy activities like streaming entertainment and video chatting with coworkers or friends simultaneously. Fast, flexible mobile plans through Xfinity Mobile are also available exclusively for Xfinity and NOW customers.
For local businesses, Comcast Business offers connectivity, communications, networking, cybersecurity, wireless and managed solutions. Industry analysts and associations have consistently recognized Comcast Business as a leader and innovator in flexible, scalable options as well as one of the fastest-growing providers of dedicated internet access services.
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