Tracy Pitcher has been named senior VP of Comcast Business at the MSO’s Central Division headquarters in Atlanta.

Pitcher had been senior VP of Comcast Business in the Northeast Division. She succeeds Jeff Buzzelli, who recently accepted the position of Comcast Florida Region senior VP.

“Tracy is a proven growth leader with an outstanding record for driving innovation and delivering high-value customer solutions,” Comcast Central Division president Christine Whitaker said. “With her deep commercial and operations expertise, I am confident that we will continue to bring best-in-class connectivity and experiences to our business customers across the division.”

Pitcher joined Comcast Business Services in 2011 holding posts at headquarters, in the Northeast Division and the Greater Boston region. 

Before joining Comcast, she worked at Charter Communications, AT&T Broadband, Time Warner Cable and Thomson Consumer Electronics.

Comcast Business said it has closed its purchase of Plano, Texas-based software defined networking and global platform company Masergy. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Comcast first announced the Masergy purchase in August.  the company has said the purchase will enable its customers to manage their international operations and networks more efficiently. Masergy has more than 1,400 customers in nearly 100 countries worldwide.

“We’re very pleased to have closed on our acquisition of Masergy and are excited to officially have their outstanding employees and leadership as part of the Comcast Business family,” Comcast Business president Bill Stemper said in a press release. “This deal fortifies our channel distribution strategy and redoubles our commitment to the channel partner community. The combination of our teams and complementary service portfolios will enhance the value we bring to large and mid-size companies worldwide.”

Comcast Business said Wednesday it has agreed to purchase Plano, Texas-based Masergy, a maker of software-defined networking and cloud platforms for global business, for an undisclosed sum.

The deal is in line with Comcast Business’s efforts to increase its reach in large and mid-sized companies, particularly U.S.-based organizations with multi-site global operations.  

“Masergy provides a perfect complement to our portfolio of enterprise services and solutions and will allow us to instantly and dramatically amplify our growth in the global enterprise market,” Comcast Business president Bill Stemper said in a press release. “We’re excited to welcome Masergy’s employees and leadership to Comcast Business as we bring continued innovation and superior experience to our customers.” 

Also Read: Comcast Combines Vudu and FandangoNow

According to Comcast, Masergy has more than 1,400 customers in nearly 100 countries and the combination of Comcast Business’s fiber network and Masergy’s services will enable Comcast Business customers to manage their international operations and networks more efficiently and securely.

“On behalf of everyone at Masergy, we are thrilled to join the Comcast Business family and are extremely excited for the next chapter of Masergy,” Masergy chairman and CEO Chris MacFarland said in a press release. “We are confident that together we can significantly enhance our service offerings to businesses of all sizes in their journey to the cloud.”

Comcast Business has launched X1 for Hospitality, a program that tailors its next-gen video platform for hotels. 

Comcast, which has already adapted the cloud-powered X1 platform for its Xfinity on Campus product, said an early adopter of the new program is the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center. The hospitality-focused version of X1 will be offered in each of the hotel’s 219 guest rooms when it opens this winter, the company said.

RELATED: Xfinity On Campus Service Launched With 100-Plus Schools

Among its features, the offering for hotels will support the X1 user interface and voice remote (with support for English and Spanish), about 300 channel options and a VOD library of more than 50,000 TV shows and movies. It will also support a two-tuner DVR and X1’s accessibility features.

Comcast announced the new product at The Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference, happening this week in Houston. 

Comcast Business said it is working to bounce back from a voice service outage that hit customers on Wednesday.  

Comcast didn’t pinpoint the source of the outage, but said that service has been restored to most of its customers.  

“We experienced a service interruption today with our Comcast Business Voice and VoiceEdge Select services and we apologize,” an official said in a statement. “Our engineers began working to address the issue immediately and services have been restored for most of our customers. We recognize that some customers are still impacted and we expect the issue to be fully resolved shortly. We have every resource focused on getting everyone back online and apologize again to the customers who were affected.” 

RELATED: Comcast Business Brings Voice Mobility to SMBs 

VoiceEdge is a cloud-based voice and unified communications platform that Comcast Business introduced in 2013.

At last check, the Comcast Cares Twitter handle had pinned a tweet updating customers about the outage:  

[embed]https://twitter.com/comcastcares/status/1004410077544046592[/embed]

Comcast Business has added a “one-click” audio conferencing app to VoiceEdge, its cloud-based phone service, that’s accessible on desk phones, mobile devices, and other types of phones.

The unit of Comcast, now focused on small-, mid- and enterprise-sized businesses, said the app simplifies how conference calls are initiated, joined and managed.

RELATED: Comcast Floats Business Phone Service Into the Cloud

VoiceEdge Conferencing, how included for all VoiceEdge subscribers, enables users to initiate a conference call with up to 50 participants, along with management controls that, for example, let hosts to view and identify all participants. It also removes the need for users to remember long phone numbers and PINs.

The app also enables click-to-dial from commonly used business productivity tools such as Google Chrome, Skype for Business, and Microsoft OWA, the company said.

“With an increasingly distributed and mobile workforce, conference calls are an important tool for keeping teams connected, but this can become challenging from a user standpoint when different people are trying to access a conference call while traveling, in remote locations, from a different office,” John Guillaume, vice president, product management at Comcast Business, said in a statement.

Comcast’s business services unit pulled down revenues of $1.62 billion in Q4 2017, putting it on an annual run rate of almost $6.5 billion.

Comcast Business said its Enterprise Solutions unit has notched a deal to provide managed services, including guest WiFi, for Taco Bell and its 6,200 company and franchise locations in the U.S.

RELATED: Comcast Gets Down to Business With WiFi

Financial terms were not announced, but the restaurant chain has retained Comcast Business to support the tech requirements for its national business operations, including a “redundant, highly-available network infrastructure.”

Tied in, Comcast Business will provide in-store managed WiFi networks and managed router systems for each restaurant that is capable of a minimum of 20 Mbps down/3 Mbps up, 4G business “continuity” at each location, and redundant connections at each location.

Comcast Business said it will also provide distributed IPsec VPN network that gives Taco Bell the ability to collect and exchange massive amounts of data at very high speeds across Taco Bell locations.

The deal comes a little over two years after Comcast introduced an enterprise division that targets large enterprises with multiple locations, and aims to build on Comcast Business’s work with small- and mid-sized business customers.

RELATED: Comcast Business Bows New Unit Targeting Fortune 1000

UPDATE: The national focus of the deal means that Comcast Business will be serving Taco Bell locations that fall outside of Comcast's regular cable footprint. Tied to its Fortune 1000 focus, Comcast has secured network agreements with several other cable operators to provide connectivity outside its footprint, and that strategy is in play with the Taco Bell deal, the company confirmed. 

“Comcast Business understands the unique network demands of national restaurant chains and looks forward to supporting Taco Bell, one of the technology leaders of the fast food industry,”  Glenn Katz, VP & GM Enterprise Solutions at Comcast Business, said in a statement. “By understanding the ever-changing demands of this highly competitive industry and having the largest high capacity network infrastructure in the country, Comcast is in a unique position to provide and manage all aspects of a service deployment within the quick serve restaurant (QSR) sector, whether they are a smaller restaurant group or a national chain with several thousand locations.”

Following its residential deployment of DOCSIS 3.1-based broadband service, Comcast Business has launched two new tiers of service on its HFC network serving its western U.S. area footprint. 

Those tiers – Business Internet 1 Gig (up to 1 Gbps in the downstream) and Business Internet 500 (up to 500 Mbps in the downstream) are now available to businesses in California, Colorado, Houston, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, Utah and Washington, the company said.

RELATED: Comcast Business Launches ‘ActiveCore’

Those launches follow similar ones in Comcast’s Central, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions.

Comcast also offers multi-gig services to businesses on its Ethernet-powered fiber network.

Comcast’s business services division pulled in revenues of $1.57 billion in Q3, putting it on an annual run rate of $6.28 billion.

The bulk of those revenues come from small- and mid-sized business customers, but Comcast is also shooting up market by pursuing larger, enterprise-class deals.

RELATED: Comcast Business Bows New Unit Targeting Fortune 1000

Looking to expand its opportunities in the commercial services sector, Comcast Business this week launched ActiveCore, a software-defined networking platform that, it says, will help its customers manage their networks across multiple locations while keeping costs in check.

Comcast Business is billing it as the first “cable-delivered, gig-ready SDN platform in the country, and said Software Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN), an alternative to multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) running over T1 lines, is the first business product powered by its ActiveCore platform.

As an SDN approach, ActiveCore delivers services and changes in software, rather than relying on purpose-built hardware. Comcast Business said ActiveCore can be paired with the operator’s new DOCSIS 3.1-based gigabit broadband service, which has been launched in the company’s Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic and Central regions, and will reach Comcast’s full service area by the end of 2017.

RELATED: Comcast Rolls DOCSIS 3.1 to More Businesses

Early SD-WAN customers include Jim Ellis Automotive Group in Atlanta, Ga., which operates 15 locations across the state with more than 1,000 employees, Comcast Business said.

Comcast Business is adding ActiveCore as it looks for more ways to stoke unit of the company that is already growing and seeking ways to move up-market and serve enterprise customers that operate in multiple locations. Comcast generated $1.5 billion in business services revenues in Q2, up 12.6% year-on-year, though much of it is still tied to small business customers.

RELATED: Comcast Business Bows New Unit Targeting Fortune 1000

“ActiveCore and SD-WAN represent a ‘generational moment’ for our industry and are designed for businesses that embrace the consumerization of IT, SaaS and cloud services to run their enterprise operations,” Kevin O’Toole, senior vice president of Product Management for Comcast Business, said in a statement. “We now offer enterprises a robust, future-proof alternative to legacy MPLS solutions; allowing them to easily add capacity to branch offices at scale and unlock the potential of virtualized networks for today’s connected economy.”

Comcast also released this video promo about ActiveCore:

Comcast Business said it has won a multi-year technology deal to deliver high-speed bandwidth services to Little Caesars Arena, a facility set to open next month and serve as the home of the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Pistons.

The deal, struck with Olympia Entertainment, also calls on Comcast Business to deploy and support a multi-terabit fiber network serving the rest of The Distinct Detroit, a 50-block revitalization project that will include residential and business tenants.

Comcast is outfitting Little Caesars Arena, set to open on Sept. 12, with dual 100-gig circuits.

Under the agreement, Comcast will also deploy more than 1,000 WiFi access points throughout the new arena and the surrounding buildings and event spaces.

Business in The District Detroit will manage their own private network and offer a separate WiFi service for patrons. Residents in the new district will also have access to other Comcast services, including video (via its X1 platform), voice, Xfinity Home and Xfinity Mobile.

Comcast said its multi-year network investment in The District Detroit is “upward of $11 million.”

The deal with Olympia Entertainment follows several other sporting venue agreements notched by Comcast Business, including NRG Stadium in Houston, Sun Trust Park in Georgia, the Denver Broncos’ Sports Authority Field, the Detroit Tigers’ Comerica Park, the San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium, the Tennessee Titans’ Nissan Field and the Oakland A's Oakland Coliseum. 

Business services remains a strong growth area for Comcast. In Q2, revenues in that segment rose 12.6%, to $1.5 billion.

Comcast Business said it has extended DOCSIS 3.1-based broadband services to small- and mid-sized businesses in the MSO’s Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions.

There, Comcast is pitching cap-free, business-class service tiers that delivers up to 500 Mbps and 1 Gbps in the downstream direction. 

Comcast Business has been asked for pricing detail for those tiers in those regions, but noted that it varies based on a business’s location or number of locations to be served. However, the company confirmed that general pricing started at $499 per month for the 1-Gig service, and $399 for the 500 Mbps offering, when the operator unleashed D3.1-based services in January in markets such as Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit and Nashville.

RELATED: Comcast Gets Down to Business With DOCSIS 3.1

The expanded reach of D3.1 to businesses covers areas such as Greater Boston; Greater Philadelphia; New Jersey; and northern Delaware; Baltimore, Md.; Charlottesville, Va.; and Washington, D.C.

Comcast Business also offers DOCSIS 3.1-based internet service in Atlanta, Nashville, Chicago, Detroit, Chattanooga, Huntsville and Miami. The operator said it expects to launch those offerings -- marketed as Business Internet 1 Gig and Business Internet 500 -- in the majority of its service areas throughout 2017 and into 2018.

Comcast is using D3.1 on its widely deployed HFC networks to complement fiber-based options that are also tailored for business customers.

Business services continues to be a strong growth driver for Comcast. In Q2, revenues in that segment rose 12.6%, to $1.5 billion.

“Comcast is building the nation’s largest gig-speed network. We have been at the forefront of DOCSIS 3.1 deployment and today’s roll out further demonstrates our commitment to bringing this transformational technology to all businesses in our footprint,” Kevin O’Toole, senior vice president of product management at Comcast Business, said in a statement.

Looking to punch up its ability to go up-market with commercial services, Comcast Business said it is beta testing a new software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) platform for mid-sized and enterprise-level customers.

Comcast said the beta platform, developed in partnership with Versa Networks and its Cloud IP Platform, will enable it to match gigabit-class speeds with the agility of software-defined networks that likewise steer it away from purpose-built hardware and put more emphasis on areas such as centralized network policy management and components that will drive more efficiency and simplicity into the network. Comcast unveiled the trial in tandem with this week’s Interop ITX show in Las Vegas.

“Our SD-WAN solution pairs a carrier-grade, hosted SDN environment with widely available gigabit service," Kevin O’Toole, senior vice president of product management for Comcast Business, said in a statement. "Together, our SD-WAN and gigabit bandwidth solutions herald a new generation of networking that provides the bandwidth, scalability, reliability and flexibility needed to power the cloud applications that are transforming business operations."

Comcast Business said the SD-WAN beta trial will continue throughout the summer, and expects to follow with a full market launch later this year.

Comcast Business also noted that it’s rolling out Business Internet 1000, a DOCSIS 3.1-based gigabit internet service, for commercial customers.

RELATED: Comcast Gets Down to Business With DOCSIS 3.1

The SD-WAN product will help Comcast Business as it continues to go up-market and pursue larger commercial customers while putting more competitive heat on incumbent telcos.

RELATED: Comcast Business Bows New Unit Targeting Fortune 1000

Comcast’s business services unit delivered $1.5 billion in revenues in Q1, up 13.6%, with about 70% of its revenue and 60% of its growth still coming way of the small business sector.

Comcast also posted a video with O’Toole that provides more detail about the SD-WAN strategy:

Comcast Business has formally introduced SmartOffice, a video surveillance, monitoring and storage product for small- and mid-sized businesses.

Per the SmartOffice web site, the offering starts at $29.95 per month and includes one indoor camera, with more cameras provided for an additional monthly charge. Comcast has been asked for additional pricing details.

UPDATE: Comcast Business is charging $14.95 per month for additional indoor cameras, and an extra $19.95 per month for outdoor cameras that work with SmartOffice.

The debut of SmartOffice, which adds a new source of potential revenue for Comcast Business, comes about a week after details about the product first uncovered by Light Reading.

RELATED: Comcast Business Developing Video Surveillance, Storage Product

The service features “commercial-grade” 720p HD cameras (with 20x zoom, night vision and motion detection capabilities), the ability to securely store up to 30 days of video in the cloud (access to that footage can be provided to as many as four employees), and live and recorded access to video via a smartphone app or from a desktop browser.

“The growing trend for building ‘Smart Cities’ will lead to the rise of connected devices across the private and public sectors, and our SmartOffice solution can provide video surveillance to organizations that want to monitor their locations more closely,” Christian Nascimento, executive director of premise services at Comcast Business. “This new service aligns well with our high-capacity internet and Ethernet offerings and allow SMBs to use the cloud for easy access to, and sharing of, video footage, which can benefit a business in many ways.”

Documentation about SmartOffice shows that Comcast is developed the product in tandem with Genetec.

Comcast Business appears to be nearing the launch of a new video surveillance and storage product that could open up a new revenue stream for an already growing division of the company.

First spotted by Light Reading, the coming SmartOffice offering is being billed as a 24/7 video monitoring and recording system that can be managed online by Comcast Business’s customers.

Comcast declined to comment on SmartOffice, but materials about the service that have shown up on the Web use the tagline, “Stay Informed. Stay In Control.”

Comcast Business hasn’t announced a launch date or a full set of pricing options, but a demo and luncheon about SmartOffice in Detroit being promoted on Facebook and located by LR notes that businesses can get it starting for $140 per month, a price that includes four cameras and 30 days of cloud video storage.

The user manual for SmartOffice shows how users would access the service through a subscriber portal, with access to a Video Tab that allows customers to view multiple live video feeds on one screen, and switch between live and recorded video playback. Users can also bookmark saved video clips, and a “Vault Tab” is where stored video clips can be stored until they are manually deleted.  SmartOffice will also support a mobile app.

The documentation also indicates that Comcast is developing SmartOffice in partnership with Genetec, a company that specializes in IP video surveillance technologies and systems.

The addition of a video surveillance product could help to stoke an already growing part of Comcast. Its business services unit ended 2016 approaching a $6 billion revenue run rate. Comcast Business is continues to chase after larger commercial customers, but the bulk of the unit’s revenue still comes way of small businesses.

RELATED: Comcast Business Bows New Unit Targeting Fortune 1000

Comcast is expanding the utilization of its DOCSIS 3.1 rollout by introducing two new broadband tiers for small- and mid-sized businesses that deliver 500 Mbps or up to 1 Gbps (downstream) initially to customers in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit and Nashville.

Using DOCSIS 3.1, a next-gen platform for widely deployed hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network, Comcast Business is introducing two new broadband services – “Business Internet 1 Gig” and “Business Internet 500." 

Update: The downstream speeds of those tiers are being paired with upstream speeds that max out at 35 Mbps. CableLabs is working on an extention to DOCSIS 3.1, called Full Duplex, that will enable symmetrical speeds. 

RELATED: 'Full Duplex' DOCSIS Speeds Ahead 

Comcast is rolling out the new tiers as business services continue to be a key growth driver for the company. Comcast pulled in about $1.4 billion in business services revenue in Q3 2016, up 15.5%. The company is scheduled to report Q4 results on Thursday (Jan. 26).

Pricing for those tiers vary based on customer needs, and include features that are tailored for business customers, including guaranteed up time, night and weekend installation windows, no data plans, static IP addresses, and 24/7 support from business service experts, but general pricing starts at $499 per month for the 1-Gig service, and $399 for the 500 Mbps offering.

On the residential side, Comcast has been selling a D3.1-based 1-Gig service for a base price of $139.95 per month, and has also been testing a promotional base price of $70 per month when customers agree to a three-year service contract.

Cable-Tec Expo: DOCSIS 3.1 Working As Advertised

Comcast has already identified several markets that are in line for DOCSIS 3.1 deployments in the early part of 2017, including Miami, Denver, San Francisco, and Kansas City, among others.

RELATED: Comcast Sets DOCSIS 3.1 Expansion

Comcast Business, which also offers 1-Gig and multi-gigabit speeds using fiber, noted today that it plans to launch its DOCSIS 3.1-based Business Internet 1 Gig and Business Internet 500 offerings in the majority of its service areas throughout 2017 and into 2018.

“High-capacity, high-performance internet can be a difference-maker for businesses that want to leverage software-as-a-service applications to improve their operations or enhance the customer experience by offering in-store Wi-Fi or a robust e-commerce site,” Kevin O’Toole, senior vice president of product management at Comcast Business, said in a statement. “DOCSIS 3.1 business internet service offers a new and easy plug-and-play option for accessing gigabit speeds in any business environment – whether that is a large distributed enterprise across a wide geographic area or a small business with one or a few locations.”

Comcast Business said it has been named the WiFi vendor of choice for NRG Stadium, the 72,000-seat home to the Houston Texans, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and  Super Bowl LI.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but Comcast Business is putting in a 10 Gbps Ethernet Dedicated Internet line to connect to the stadium’s local area network to the public Internet and underpin the venue’s free WiFi service. Comcast will also put in a branded Xfinity X1 “wall” inside the stadium that hosts multiple large screens that show other games, concert footage and event information.

RELATED: Comcast Business Links Up With Atlanta Braves

"We are pleased to partner with Comcast Business to provide free Wi-Fi for our fans to use on gameday at NRG Stadium" said Jamey Rootes, president of the Houston Texans, in a statement. "Fast, reliable Wi-Fi service is the foundation that will allow us to enhance the experience that our fans have on gameday through social media, live video, replays and other features available through the Texans app.”

“We are most excited to bring this great amenity to guests of NRG Stadium without using taxpayer dollars,” added said Kevin Hoffman, executive director of the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation. "We were able to work with the NFL, the Super Bowl Host Committee and other stakeholders to create a unique funding partnership to get this accomplished.”

Supporting sporting and event venues has become a growing segment for Comcast Business, which generated $1.36 billion in revenues in Q2 2016, up from $1.16 billion in the year-ago period.

RELATED: Comcast Upgrades Join Denver Broncos' Playbook

The unit of Comcast also has similar deals with the Atlanta Braves’ Sun Trust Park, the Denver Broncos’ Sports Authority Field, the Detroit Tigers’ Comerica Park, the San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium, the Tennessee Titans’ Nissan Field and the Oakland A's Oakland Coliseum. 

Comcast Business said it has struck a new multi-site enterprise network deal with the Atlanta Braves for the team’s front offices at SunTrust Park and for minor league team operations in Georgia and  Virginia.

The agreement follows a multi-year tech and real estate partnership announced in March 2015 between the Braves and Comcast.

The latest deal calls for Comcast Business to connect the team with two 100 Gbps Ethernet services at the new Braves ballpark, set for completion in 2017, and more than 700  WiFi access points for the mixed-use facility. Comcast Business will also connect the team’s minor league teams in Rome and Gwinnett County, Ga.; and Danville, Va., as well as a sales location at the CNN Center in downtown Atlanta. Comcast will also supply phone service for the Braves’ SunTrust Park offices.

Comcast is also on tap to provide video, voice and high-speed Internet connectivity throughout the 60-acre project, which includes the new ballpark, retail shops, restaurants, an office tower, hotel, an entertainment venue and residential units.

Comcast will also become the Braves’ “signature tenant” for a multi-story office building within the development that will house more than 1,000 Comcast Employees.

The deal expands on Comcast Business’ sports-facing agreements to equip LP Field, the home of the Tennessee Titans, with 1-Gig connectivity and on-site WiFi hotpots, and pacts with the San Francisco 49ers,Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Boston Celtics, Oakland A’s, Boston Red Sox,  Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Hawks. 

Comcast Business pulled in $1.36 billion in revenues in Q2 2016, up from $1.16 billion in the year-ago period. 

Looking to drive X1 into new markets, Comcast is preparing to trial the cloud-driven video service with hotels in the Philadelphia area later this summer.

Comcast is currently in talks with several hotels in the area about the trial, but has not announced timing for a commercial rollout.

Comcast Business, the commercial services unit of Comcast, announced the new offering, called X1 for Business, at the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference (HITEC), which is taking place this week in New Orleans.

Comcast Business, which is demonstrating it at the show, said the X1 for hotels and hospitality venues will support several that are part of the platform’s core residential offering including a cloud UI, voice remote, the ability to pause and rewind live TV, access to free VOD titles, the X1 Sports app, a “talking guide” for people with visual disabilities, and the option to view the guide and channel listings in English or Spanish.

X1 for Business should help Comcast to expand the reach of the platform, which has also been tailored for colleges and universities (Xfinity on Campus) and for apartments and other types of multiple dwelling units (Xfinity Communities).

About 35% of Comcast’s s 22.4 million video subs are now on X1. The MSO, which is deploying about 40,000 X1 boxes per day, is aiming to raise that to about 50% by the end of this year.

X1 will also open up a new revenue stream for Comcast Business, which pulled down $1.31 billion in revenues in Q1 2016, establishing an annual run-rate of $5.2 billion.

In the hotel/hospitality sector, Comcast will be competing with other service providers, including Dish Network and DirecTV, which scored a deal with Hilton Hotels in 2014, as well as market specialists such as Sonify Solutions, which this week announced several enhancements, including “SoniCast,” a platform that supports the Google Chromecast streaming adapter, and a mobile API for hotel partner apps, and a new interactive TV system that provides more details about the property.

Also this week, GuestTek announced a partnership that integrates its OneView Managed Video Platform with Bulk TV, which supports DirecTV and provides service to 400,000 guest rooms. GuestTek noted that its MVP platform complies with Marriott’s Guestroom Entertainment services platform.

"X1 has transformed entertainment for our residential customers, and starting our X1 B2B trials with hotels is a natural extension as this industry focuses on providing guests with all of the comforts from home, including a great TV watching experience," Denice Hasty, SVP, marketing and product management for Comcast Business, said in a statement. "We are just getting started, but we are excited about the prospects for X1 expansion."

"Comcast is poised to disrupt the $3 billion United States business TV market with X1 for Business," added Greg Ireland, multiscreen video analyst at IDC. "Products and solutions that have generated excellent results on the residential side can help businesses, particularly in the hospitality industry, gain an edge in attracting new and returning consumers."

About 700 Wawa stores in six states now provide free WiFi access thanks to a new partnership with Comcast’s business services unit.

Comcast Business said its Enterprise division installed the managed public/private WiFi network (along with managed broadband services) in those stores located in Delaware, Florida, Maryland, new Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia. To gain free WiFi access and sidestep usage of the cellular network, Wawa customers at those locations will need to point their devices to the “xfinitywifi” SSID.

Notably, the scope of the agreement includes deployments in Wawa stores that are both in and out of Comcast’s traditional service footprint.

Update: Comcast confirmed that coverage outside its traditional footprint in the Wawa deal is coming way of its announcement last fall to focus on enterprise business customers in the Fortune 1000 and enable that in part through network agreements with other cable operators, a group that includes Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, Cox Communications and Cablevision Systems.

Comcast Business in January announced the commercial launch of WiFi Pro, a cloud-controlled WiFi platform for small- and medium-sized businesses and enterprise branch locations.

"This collaboration between Xfinity and Comcast Business to deliver an integrated, managed Wi-Fi service to Wawa, a respected mainstay in the Philadelphia business community, highlights the value we can deliver to customers across our high-growth businesses," said Bill Stemper, president of Comcast Business, in a statement. “As more enterprises look to improve the customer experience at their branch locations, fast and reliable Wi-Fi has become a cornerstone for attracting and retaining customers. Comcast has the services and expertise to enable a great Wi-Fi experience to all locations within a distributed enterprise whether it’s a retailer like Wawa, a bank, hotel or restaurant chain."

Separately, Comcast Business said it notched a deal to be the exclusive network services provider for Bethesda Green, a non-profit incubator for environmentally sustainable businesses in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Montgomery County, Md. The agreement included a 1 Gbps Ethernet Dedicated Internet line that’s capable of scaling up to 10 Gbps.

Comcast Business pulled in $1.25 billion in revenues in Q4 2015, up from $1.05 billion the year-ago quarter.  Comcast is scheduled to report Q1 2016 results on Wednesday (April 27) morning.

RELATED:Comcast Defends MFNs in FCC Video Access Inquiry | Comcast, EA to End X1 Gaming Trial

Comcast Cable has promoted several senior vice presidents across many areas of the company, including customer experience, consumer services, technology and product, enterprise and business services, advanced advertising,  and sales and marketing

Consumer Services Group

-Javier Garcia, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Multicultural Services

Javier directs, designs, and implements Comcast’s multicultural services vision and strategy across all Xfinity products. Since joining Comcast in late 2014, Javier and his team worked closely with the product team to lead the company’s bicultural transformation initiatives, including the launch of the X1 bicultural experience, a first of its kind TV viewing experience that gives bicultural families more choices in how they consume TV and movies in the home.  Javier holds an MBA from The Wharton School of Business, an MA in International Affairs from the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Civil Engineering from Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia).

Customer Experience

-Piers Lingle, Senior Vice President, Customer Experience

In this role, Piers leads efforts to deliver next generation customer experience options for Comcast’s customers.  Since 2010, Piers has been a key leader in product development of Xfinity video products, in particular the X1 Platform. In 2015, he moved from the product group with Charlie Herrin to take on the challenge of transforming Comcast’s support and experience model by leveraging the same product approach he used in his previous role. Piers graduated cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a BA in Political Science. 

Technology and Product

-Ruth Dawson, Senior Vice President, Comcast Innovation Labs, and General Manager of Comcast Silicon Valley

In this leadership role, Ruth ensures Comcast stays at the forefront of technology and product trends that are critical to our business. Ruth has led the Silicon Valley campus since 2014, and along with her product team, delivered key product innovations such as the X1 Sports App, and multiple X1 third party applications. She is a Betsy Magness Leadership Institute Fellow who also attended the Wharton Executive Leadership Development Program.

-Tom Loretan, Senior Vice President and Executive Creative Director, User Experience and Product Design

Tom leads interface, graphic, package, industrial, and product design across all Xfinity customer experiences. Tom holds several Comcast patents and he and his team were honored by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with a Creative Arts Emmy in 2014 for outstanding achievement in user experience, and visual design for Xfinity X1. Tom was born in New York and studied Graphic Design and Computer Graphics at Massachusetts College of Art and Rhode Island School of Design.

-Elad Nafshi, Senior Vice President, Next Generation Access Networks

Elad leads one of Comcast’s largest initiatives – the deployment of the company’s all digital migrations – and has been instrumental in the launch of Comcast’s IP-based cable services such as cloud DVR, Stream TV and Xfinity On Campus. His team also leads other initiatives centered on ensuring that Comcast’s network capacity expands and evolves to keep pace with the next generation of hyper-connected devices, homes and experiences. He graduated from The Buchmann School of Law at Tel Aviv University in Israel with a focus on corporate law. He also holds a master’s in business from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester in New York, where he specialized in finance and electronic commerce.  

-Noam Raffaelli, Senior Vice President, IP and Communications Services

In this role, he leads architecture, development, and operations of high-speed data, WiFi, voice and video communications, consumer email. Noam is a graduate of the Center for Computing and Information Systems, part of the Israeli Defense Forces, and holds an MS in Finance from the London City University.

-Fraser Stirling, Senior Vice President, Hardware Development

Fraser leads the product management and development of all of Comcast’s devices with the mission of improving new product service velocity, product differentiation, and cost management. Since joining Comcast in 2014, Fraser has transformed our design standards, putting focus on the industrial and technical design, and helping consumers see the product as more than just another piece of technology in the home. He and his team launched the first voice-enabled remote control, and he was instrumental in developing the Gigabit Home Gateway and the next generation of X1 devices. Fraser received his HND in Music Technology and Electronics from Glasgow Caledonian University in the United Kingdom.   

Engineering and Platform Services

-Rob Holmes, Senior Vice President, Advanced Advertising

In this role, he leads Comcast’s cross-company advanced advertising efforts to deliver multi-screen, interoperable technologies that will better serve the entire TV ecosystem and elevate television advertising accountability and efficiency at scale.  His team is responsible for the strategic development and deployment of advanced advertising platforms, including data-enabled advertising, enhanced targeting and dynamic ad insertion, and innovative tools that provide a streamlined, automated process for buyers and sellers.  Rob received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar, and his BA from Princeton University.

Enterprise Business Intelligence

-Marc Sirota, Senior Vice President, Applied Analytics

Marc joined the Enterprise Business Intelligence (EBI) organization in 2013 following 13 years of experience at Comcast in both field and headquarter roles. Over the past few years, Marc has played an integral role in building and executing the EBI roadmap. In this role, he will continue to lead the Applied Analytics team to promote cross-footprint adoption of data-driven and analytics-focused solutions to inform decision-making and strategic planning.  Marc attended Bloomsburg University, where he received his BS in Accounting.

Business Development

-Ebony Lee, Senior Vice President, Growth Development

Ebony provides business strategy, planning, and portfolio management for Comcast’s growth initiatives and strategic partnerships. In his role, Ebony works with internal and external partners to identify and evaluate new business ventures that can diversify and grow the business.  Ebony joined Comcast in 2008 and was a founding team member of Comcast’s next generation X1 platform. She also handled business affairs for the innovation technology joint venture between Comcast and Verizon Wireless. Ebony holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia. 

Sales and Marketing

-Luci Rainey, Senior Vice President, Consumer Marketing

In this role, Luci is responsible for driving growth of Xfinity products across all customer segments with a focus on marketing across the entire customer lifecycle, including acquisition, customer development, and loyalty & retention. As a leader she has a passion for talent development and marketing education.  She is involved in adjunct lecturing on marketing at Boston College, as well as various conferences. Luci holds a BA in journalism from Indiana University Bloomington. 

Comcast Business

-Todd Goodbinder, Senior Vice President, Comcast Business SMB Sales

In this role, Todd will be responsible for all SMB field sales, including both inside and outside direct sales channels, and partner closely with local and regional teams to continue to build Comcast’s growing SMB segment. Most recently, he has evolved our inbound business sales efforts to include active outside sales and retention, contributing significantly to SMB growth and customer churn reduction. Todd went to the University of Kansas where he received his BS in Business Administration and Accounting.

Comcast Business said it now provides enterprise customers direct links to Amazon Web Services (AWS).

That linkage, via AWS Direct Connect, gives Comcast Business customers private network connectivity to the AWS Cloud services that perform critical processes like production compute and storage, backup, dev/test, collaboration and billing or website hosting, Comcast Business said.

Comcast currently provides business customers with up to 10 Gbps of dedicated Ethernet connectivity to AWS.

"Connecting to a leading provider of cloud services is an advanced IT asset for our enterprise customers, and as CIOs and IT leaders look to expand their use of AWS, our integration with AWS Direct Connect will give them a new Ethernet network option to connect dispersed office locations and data centers," said Denice Hasty, senior vice president of Marketing and Product Management for Comcast Business, in a statement. "A key part of our cloud and data center initiative is to give businesses direct access to cloud providers for increased options and flexibility as they customize their hybrid network strategies."

As a member of the AWS Partner Network (APN), Comcast Business also can connect more than 1 million Ethernet-enabled buildings in the Comcast network to additional AWS services like Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Solution (Amazon S3) and Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC).

Comcast Business, which recently launched a unit focused on large enterprise business customers in the Fortune 1000, pulled in $1.25 billion in revenues in Q4 2015, up from $1.05 billion the year-ago quarter.  Comcast ended 2015 as the nation’s fifth-largest U.S. provider of carrier Ethernet services, according to Vertical Systems Group. AT&T was tops, followed by Level 3, Verizon, CenturyLink and Time Warner Cable.

Super Bowl 50 was a big day for Von Miller, Peyton Manning and the rest of the Denver Broncos, but it was also a big day with respect to the amount of data that fans consumed at the game’s venue – Levi’s Stadium.

Comcast, citing networking partners and industry experts, said that more than 10 terabytes of data (up and down) traversed the stadium’s Aruba Networks-powered WiFi network that day as Super Bowl attendees tweeted, streamed video and shared photos to their heart’s delight. (RELATED: CBS set streaming marks for Super Bowl with nearly 4 million unique viewers.)

“That’s a staggering amount of data, equal to streaming 6,000+ hours of HD video (more than 8 months worth) or almost 1.2 Million 2-megabyte images,” John Guillaume, vice president, product management at Comcast Business noted in this blog post. “A lot of that volume was generated by the free Super Bowl 50 Stadium app – which allows fans to order food, watch the Super Bowl commercials and replays, and check lines.”

Comcast is tooting its horn about that because it played a key role behind the network scenes. In 2014, it announced a ten-year deal partnership with the San Francisco 49ers and its new home that spans video and voice services, dual 10 Gbps connections, and free WiFi for the fans.

Broken down further fans used 9.3 TB of data during the game while logged on the “SB50FREE” network at the venue, while media (data gluttons that they are) gobbled up 453 gigabytes on their dedicated network. The cumulative data figures for the game were compiled from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. PT.

Comcast noted that the amount of data transferred during Super Bowl 50 outdid the previous high last year -- 6.2 TB at the University of Phoenix for Super Bowl XLIX.

Among other stats, the venue also set a Super Bowl record by registering 27,316 unique WiFi users and a peak of 20,300 concurrent users (at 5:55pm PT), toping last year’s respective 25,936 and 17,322.

WiFi usage during Super Bowl 50 peaked at 3.67 Gbps (at 3:25pm PT), passing the previous venue record of 3.55 Gbps for the NHL Stadium Series between San Jose and Los Angeles on Feb. 21, 2015.

Per Comcast, the 10 “moments” that generated the most traffic at the stadium during the game included:

-The introduction of the 50 Super Bowl MVPs

-Lady Gaga singing the National Anthem and the Blue Angels flyover

-The opening kickoff

-The first coach’s challenge

-Von Miller’s forced fumble and the first touchdown of the game by Malik Jackson

-The halftime show with Coldplay, Beyonce and Bruno Mars

-Von Miller’s second forced fumble and C.J. Anderson’s game-sealing touchdown

-Peyton Manning exiting the field and Gary Kubiak’s Gatorade shower

-The Lombardi Trophy presentation

-Using apps to get back home and to hotels

Carving out another revenue stream for its commercial service arm, Comcast Business has formally introduced WiFi Pro, a cloud-controlled WiFi platform for small- and medium-sized businesses and enterprise branch locations.

Comcast noted that WiFi Pro, a managed solution provided by the MSO,  uses two commercial  WiFi networks – a private network for employees and a guest network for visitors and patrons. The new offering can be managed on mobile devices  using a mobile app or an online portal, allowing partners to check network activity, configure controls and allocate bandwidth.  The platform also features a customizable splash-page designer

“WiFi Pro offers simple management and features to SMBs and distributed enterprises that were previously only available to headquarters and other large office locations, enabling a better employee experience and customer engagement,” said John Guillaume, vice president of Product Management at Comcast Business, in a statement. “he additional marketing features allow SMBs and enterprise branches to create a more personalized experience through Wi-Fi to help drive customer retention and revenue growth.”

This video below offers more detail on Comcast's new business offering.

WiFi Pro  is expected to drive more revenue for a growth-focused area of the MSO. Comcast pulled in business services revenues of $1.2 billion in the category in Q3 2015, up 19.5% year-over-year, putting it on an annual run rate approaching $5 billion.

Comcast Business today will reach more California-based SMBs with afer extending its fiber-based network to the San Ramon business park, which is home to more than 167 commercial tenants. 

Comcast Business said it has installed more than 1.5 miles of fiber (a mix of underground and aerial plant) there to the business community on the west side of Interstate 680, north of Deerwood Road. The network expansion, the result of a $250,000 investment, will provide businesses there with Ethernet capacity up to 10 Gbps, the operator said. 

Comcast Business’s fiber network now spans 140,000 miles and ties into a 100 Gbps backbone.

Business services continue to be a bright spot for the MSO.  Comcast pulled in business services revenues of $1.2 billion in the category, up 19.5% year-over-year, putting it on an annual run rate approaching $5 billion.

On yesterday’s earnings call, Comcast SVP and CFO Michael Cavanagh said more than 70% of those revenues are coming from small businesses, adding that the MSO is seeing an increase in businesses from mid-sized commercial customers.

“If you look under the hood at many of the businesses we’re targeting, they resemble an aggregation of small businesses --  those with brand systems such as banks, retailers, and restaurant chains,” he said. “In these cases, the needs of the local branches look very much like the small and medium-sized business customers we serve so well today.”

He added that Comcast is in the “early stages” of pursuing deals with larger enterprise businesses.  Comcast announced last month that it had formed a new unit that will target Fortune 1000 companies, underpinned by network agreements with fellow MSOs such as Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, Mediacom Communications, Cox Communications and Cablevision Systems.

Comcast Business said it now reaches 700 more local businesses in the Twin Cities following a $3.1 million investment that helped it to expand the reach of its fiber network backbone there. 

The investment extends that network, which provides up to 10 Gbps, to businesses along Nicollet Mall, Eagan, Osseo, Chaska, Lake Elmo and Plymouth, the MSO said, noting that the expansion is hitting retail, commercial and industrial projects in those areas.

Comcast estimates that it about 90,000 businesses in the Twin  Cities are now passed by its fiber and  HFC network.

“As Twin Cities companies increasingly compete with the rest of the world, it’s critical they have access to technology that will help them run their business and serve their customers as efficiently and effectively as possible,” said Kalyn Hove, vice president, Comcast Business - Twin Cities, in a statement.   “Comcast Business products are designed to provide the kind of flexibility and scalability to help businesses of all sizes adapt to the rapidly changing world of commerce, backed by dependable reliability.” 

In the second quarter, business services revenues at Comcast rose 20.4%, to $1.2 billion. Comcast said it has achieved a penetrate rate of 25% for small businesses, and is approaching 10% for mid-sized businesses. 

Comcast recently launched new division that targets Fortune 1000 companies.

Comcast Business is expanding its portfolio with Voice Mobility, a new type of phone line for small- and medium-sized businesses that features a mobile app that ensures that employees won't miss calls or messages when they’re on the go.

Comcast Business Voice Mobility, the MSO said, is designed for employees who need to work outside the office but need to stay connected to their business phone using a single phone number.

The new app bakes in features such as voicemail, Be Anywhere (receives calls on a mobile phone or another phone out of the office, Move Call (shift in-process calls between a mobile phone and the office phone); call transfers, mobile business contact lists, and a Do Not Disturb function that blocks incoming calls.

The debut of the app follows the biz unit’s 2013 launch of VoiceEdge, a cloud-based voice and unified communications platform.

“Comcast Business Voice Mobility provides an easy-to-use mobile app that enables our business customers to quickly check voicemails, make and receive calls, transfer calls and more,” John Guillaume, vice president of Product Management at Comcast Business, said in a statement. “Comcast delivers superior call quality to millions of small business owners over our owned and managed network, and this app extends our voice capabilities to employees on their iOS or Android mobile phones.”

In the second quarter, business services revenues at Comcast rose 20.4%, to $1.2 billion. Comcast said it has achieved a penetrate rate of 25% for small businesses, and is approaching 10% for mid-sized businesses. 

Comcast recently launched new division that targets Fortune 1000 companies.

Comcast Business, the commercial services arm of the cable giant, is going after large enterprises full bore, forming a new unit specifically targeting Fortune 1000 companies and forming agreements with cable companies across the country to provide managed services to big business customers with locations nationwide.

The new Enterprise Services unit, branded Managed Enterprise Solutions, will offer a full suite of managed enterprise products including broadband, Ethernet, voice, router, security business continuity and WiFi. To meet those goals, Comcast said it has purchased a managed service company and has signed network agreements with other cable operators to further support national accounts.

Headed by former SpaceNet Inc. CEO Glenn Katz, Comcast said the new unit has already signed large customers from several industries including financial services, banking, hospitality and retail.

“We’re committed to expanding and enhancing our offerings for businesses of all sizes, and having the expertise, tools and portfolio in place to deliver customized service packages to nationwide enterprises is a key part of our growth strategy,” said Comcast Business president Bill Stemper in a statement. “Large companies need a provider who can help them manage complex networks, develop business continuity plans and integrate cloud-based applications. Our entry into this segment of the market will introduce new innovation and choice.”

Business services have been the fastest growing segment for most cable operators and Comcast is no exception. According to Comcast, business services grew 22% in 2014 and has an annual revenue run-rate of more than $4.5 billion. But so far most of the revenue has come from small and medium sized business. With the creation of Managed Enterprise Services, Comcast can tackle larger enterprises with locations outside of Comcast’s cable footprint.

According to a recent report from IDC, a Framingham, Mass.-based IT industry analyst firm, the U.S. market for managed services is expected to increase from $29 billion in 2014 to $52 billion in 2019.

"With its national network reach and end-to-end service delivery capabilities, Comcast is well positioned to serve the outsourced network management needs of large business that require increasing network capacity to serve expanding multi-site requirements," IDC research vice president Melanie Posey said in a statement.

While network agreements with cable operators like Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, Cox Communications and Cablevision Systems will help expand Comcast’s business services reach, the cable giant also recently purchased national technology deployment and managed services firm Contingent Network Services to help larger enterprises outsource their day-to-day network operations. Comcast purchased Contingent, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company but will continue to operate under its own brand name, in late August.

“Contingent’s mission is to provide clients with high-quality, cost-effective network and deployment services wherever and whenever needed for reliable communications across an enterprise, and we couldn’t be more excited for them to join our team,” Katz said in a statement. “By joining forces with Comcast Business, Contingent can further expand their reach and take advantage of Comcast’s extensive fiber and hybrid fiber coax network to give enterprises the optimal network experience to meet their business and technology requirements.”

Comcast Business said it has landed a deal to provide an Ethernet-powered upgrade for the Hilton San Francisco Union Square hotel, a site that touts 1,919 guest rooms and 130,000 square feet of meeting space.

Via the upgrade, Hilton San Francisco Union Square is getting two Internet circuits of 500 Mbps two dedicated 1Gbps circuits, upgradable to 10Gbps, Comcast said.

The capacities were necessary, they said, to provide the bandwidth needed to support guests’ social activities including streaming video while “meeting industry standards to support up to 6,000 guests online at the same time.”

“One of the essential amenities we offer to our guests is Internet and our goal to support as many users with as much bandwidth at the highest speed possible at any given time is made possible by using Comcast Business’ Ethernet,” said Pejman Parvazi, Area Manager for Information Technology at Hilton Worldwide. “We have been impressed with Comcast’s ability to address our needs and provide the potential to grow while offering reliable support. It is important for us to deliver high quality amenities to our guests.”

“Reliable and efficient solutions are critical to the hotel industry in today’s digital environment,” added Ted Girdner, Vice President of Comcast Business for Comcast’s California Region. “Hilton San Francisco Union Square is providing access to information, and we’re pleased to provide a solution that enhances the hotel experience for all its guests.”

In the second quarter, business services revenues at Comcast rose 20.4%, to $1.2 billion. Comcast said it has achieved a penetrate rate of 25% for small businesses, and is approaching 10% for mid-sized businesses.  

Comcast Business said it has moved ahead on a “major expansion” of its fiber network to the Meyers Business Park in Chico, Calif., that will be marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony later today.

Comcast said it installed more than 3.5 miles of fiber, both underground and aerial, from its existing lines to the business park and its 166 businesses.  The high-performance fiber network will provide the businesses with Internet services up to 10 Gbps.The expansion comes as a result of a more than $350,000 investment from Comcast, the MSO said.

Businesses with access to the expansion will be able to connect to Comcast’s Ethernet services portfolio,  including Ethernet Dedicated Internet, Ethernet Private Line, Ethernet Virtual Private Line and Ethernet Network Services that provide Internet access, point-to-point, and point-to-multipoint connectivity at bandwidth that scales up to 10 Gbps. They’ll also have access to VoiceEdge, a cloud-based voice and unified communications solution from Comcast Business.

“Scalable, secure, high-performance network services continue to increase in importance for companies of all sizes. Comcast’s investment in the Chico area will help drive innovation in agriculture, construction and other industries in our region,” said Mark Sorenson, mayor, City of Chico, in a statement. 

Business services continue to be a growth engine at Comcast. In the second quarter, business servcies revenues rose 20.4%, to $1.2 billion. Comcast said it has achieved a penetrate rate of 25% for small businesses, and is approaching 10% for mid-sized businesses. 

Adding another sports venue to its service wins, Comcast Business said the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks has picked the unit to upgrade team’s data, voice and video services at Philips Arena, the team’s home court.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but Comcast said the Hawks is moving away from managing multiple vendors for different services and instead consolidating their data, voice and video services with Comcast Business.

On the broadband end, Comcast Business will equip the facility with a dedicated 100 Mbps Ethernet connection, while also providing PRI trunks over fiber and TV service.

“Internet connectivity impacts all aspects of our operation, from enabling the media to circulate their coverage, to supporting the coaching and front office team members with everything from scouting to ticket sales,” said Andrew Steinberg, executive vice president and chief revenue officer, Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena, in a statement.

"Most enterprise IT managers don't have to worry about thousands of people suddenly showing up at their office and riding on their network, but that is a near daily occurrence for the Atlanta Hawks’ IT team," added Cleve Lewis, VP of business services for Comcast. “In the business of professional sports, it is absolutely a given now that fans attending games, and the media covering them, expect fast, reliable service, which our advanced Ethernet delivers.” 

The deal with the Hawks follows other pro sports-oriented agreements Comcast Business has salted away with the Atlanta Braves, the Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Boston Celtics, Oakland A’s, Boston Red Sox, and Detroit Tigers.

Adding to a batch of deals with major sports teams and sporting venues, Comcast has struck a multi-year technology and real estate agreement with the Atlanta Braves that will include the wiring up of  SunTrust Park and its surrounding areas with multi-terabit network capabilities.

In addition to deploying an all-fiber network for the new ballpark and its nearby surroundings, the partnership also includes a nine-story, Comcast-branded tower office that will house a new innovation lab and serve as office space for more than 1,000 Comcast employees.

Comcast, the area's incumbent cable provider, said the resulting network, which will feature two datacenters equipped with 10,000 fiber connections and backed by dual 400 megawatt generators, will provide video, voice and high-speed Internet throughout the 60-acre project, which includes the new ballpark, retail shops, restaurants, a hotel, residential units, and the new office tower. 

The Comcast tower will support mostly new positions and will be added after construction of the other portions of the project is complete in 2017. SunTrust Park is expected to be ready by Opening Day 2017.

"Our partnership with Comcast will keep us head-and-shoulders above other sports venues and mixed-use communities around the country and allow us to meet our fans’ high expectations for engagement, awareness and access,” Braves chairman Terry McGuirk said, in a statement.

"This is a truly unprecedented project and I can’t think of a better partner than the Braves, led by the visionary Terry McGuirk, as we bring record Internet speeds to fans, residents and businesses," added Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts. "We’re also excited to make the community around SunTrust Park home to 1,000 of our employees as we continue to grow our technology team and develop innovative new products."

It marks another sports-facing deal for Comcast and its business services unit. The MSO recently announced it would equip LP Field, the home of the Tennessee Titans, with 1-Gig connectivity and on-site WiFi hotpots. Comcast Business has secured deals with other pro sports franchises, including the San Francisco 49ers,Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Boston Celtics, Oakland A’s, Boston Red Sox,  Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Hawks. 

Comcast Business retained its spot as the fastest-growing Ethernet provider in the U.S. in 2014, matching the distinction the MSO achieved in 2013, according to new data from Vertical Systems Group.

Comcast's business services unit pulled in $1.05 billion in revenues in the fourth quarter of 2014, and $3.9 billion for the full-year, up 22% versus 2013. The bulk of those revenues are still coming way of smaller business served off of Comcast’s hybrid fiber/coax networks and not yet from its fiber-based Metro Ethernet platform.

Speaking on the MSO’s fourth quarter call on Tuesday (Feb. 24), Comcast Cable president and CEO Neil Smit said Comcast Business is enjoying about 25% penetration in the small- and mid-sized commercial services sector, and about 5% in the mid-market, the area that the MSO is targeting with MetroE. Comcast has also developed an “Ethernet @Home” service that runs off of HFC to serve smaller business customers. 

As for the broader Ethernet market, AT&T was the top U.S. Ethernet provider in 2014, according to Vertical Systems Group’s new leaderboard, followed by Level 3 (aided by its acquisition of tw telecom last year), Verizon Communications, CenturyLink, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Cox, and XO Communications.

Providers in Vertical Systems Group’s “Challenge Tier,” which include companies with 1% to 4% share of the U.S. retail Ethernet market, include Charter Communications, Cogent, Lightpath (Cablevisions Systems), Windstraem and Zayo.

Vertical Systems bases its rankings on billable retail port installations.

Comcast Business said the Tennessee Titans have equipped LP Field with a redundant 1 Gbps dedicated Ethernet connection from the MSO that will support other tech-facing additions, including an on-site network of WiFi hotspots that will be accessible by football fans.

The resulting on-site WiFi network will give smartphone-toting fans a fast way to upload photos, monitor their fantasy football teams, check scores, and tap into the Titans’ official mobile app for iOS, Android and Blackberry devices, they said. 

Comcast noted that the fiber-based Ethernet platform will allow the team to scale up to 10 Gbps. Financial terms were not announced, but the Titans have also deployed an Ethernet Private Line from Comcast at the team's practice facility.

“Being a diehard sports fan involves more than just watching your favorite team in person – it means being able to access the information you desire, when you want it, at your fingertips,” said Russ Hudson, Director, Information Systems of the Tennessee Titans, in a statement. “Our fans not only want to watch and support the team on the field, but also desire to see a close-up of that diving catch or game-saving tackle from their smartphone, and Comcast Business is playing an instrumental role in meeting these demands. The connection was easy to install and feedback from our fans couldn’t be more positive about the new Wi-Fi access.”

“Fans inside LP Field now have the luxury of reliable, high speed Wi-Fi access with unique new perspectives into the game through the Titans mobile app,” added Doug Guthrie, regional SVP, Comcast.   It’s imperative that organizations like the Titans take proactive steps to ensure they have the connectivity solutions to meet their customers’ needs, today and in the future.”

The deal with the Titans follows several other deals Comcast Business has secured with pro sports franchises, including the San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Boston Celtics, Oakland A’s, Boston Red Sox,  Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Hawks. 

Comcast’s business services unit generated $1.01 billion in revenues in the third quarter of 2014, putting it on an annual run rate of more than $4 billion. Comcast is scheduled to post fourth quarter and full year 2014 results on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

Vastly expanding the reach of its commercial-class Ethernet platform, Comcast Business on Monday formally rolled out Ethernet @Home, a service that can be delivered via the operator’s widely deployed hybrid fiber coax (HFC) network.

Ethernet @Home will give Comcast a way to build on its fiber-based Metro Ethernet platform that targets mid-sized business customers. Comcast sees the product addressing a range of use cases, including full-time teleworkers as well as healthcare and IT professionals and corporate executives who work from home on occasion but still require the kind of high-performing, private network connectivity that Ethernet can provide at their office locations.

Among the early adopters of Ethernet @Home is Cooper University Health Care of Camden, N.J., which is using the system to help its radiologists rapidly and securely review images and patient files from their homes via Cooper’s private network.

Comcast, citing estimates from Global Workplace Analytics, noted that about 50% of the U.S. workforce holds a job that is compatible with at least part-time work from home. Another report from the Telework Research Network sees the number of full-time teleworkers rising to nearly 5 million by 2016.

The new HFC-based Ethernet product “is really oriented to our mid-markets and enterprise customers,” Mike Tighe, executive director, data services, for Comcast Business, said, noting that the operator has been using “Ethernet everywhere” terminology to drive home the implication of the offering. “It’s about enabling Ethernet connectivity anywhere our customer needs to be…taking Ethernet where it’s never been before.”

He said Comcast has been offering an Ethernet over HFC product for about 24 months, up to symmetrical 10 Mbps, with a priority-class of service, but started to introduce the new Ethernet @Home service over the summer. The new Ethernet @Home comes in a range of service types, including Ethernet Dedicated Internet (EDI), Ethernet Private Line (EPL) and Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL).

“10-Meg Ethernet is the new T-1,” Tighe said.

Word of the new offering began to emerge last month when Light Reading caught wind that the Ethernet @Home service was up for an award with the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF).

The new product is entering the mix as business services continue to represent a significant growth driver for Comcast. Its business services unit generated $1.01 billion in revenues in the third quarter of 2014, putting it on an annual run rate of more than $4 billion. 

Comcast Business, the commercial services arm of Comcast, has launched a new hybrid data center and cloud program designed to give customers of its Ethernet platform more flexible and efficient access to critical tasks and functions such as data storage/backup, billing, and Web site hosting.

Comcast Business, which launched private Ethernet services in 2011, said it has extended that fiber-based platform to multi-tenant data centers and cloud exchanges, noting that the plan will help it broaden that access in its footprint to more than 1 million Ethernet-enabled buildings.

Comcast Business said it’s adding the capability as its customers look to mix private and public cloud services, based on the requirements of specific applications.

Under the program, Comcast Business is building direct connections into cloud exchanges to give its Ethernet customers scalable access to a range of cloud service providers.  As part of this strategy, Comcast Business said it has secured private connections with automated provisioning to multiple cloud services through the Equinix Cloud Exchange at 10 Gbps, 1 Gbps and sub-gigabit connections.

Comcast Business said it has extended its fiber network and Ethernet services into more than 325 data centers across the U.S., spanning individual Tier I facilities that local businesses use for data back-up to regional, to multi-facility Tier IV providers that offer colocation, managed hosting and cloud services with replication across diverse geographies.

“For CIOs and IT departments, sourcing their business applications to a multi-tenant data center or cloud is only viable if their business locations have private Ethernet connectivity to ensure application performance would be the same whether the server is on-site or hundreds of miles away,” said Mike Tighe, executive director, data services, Comcast Business, in a statement. “Our focus is on being the data center and cloud-neutral transport provider that empowers businesses with a choice in hybrid IT solutions and massive Ethernet network reach to connect data centers and cloud services to more than one million Ethernet-enabled buildings.”

Comcast is introducing the program as business services continues to be a major revenue growth driver for the MSO. The operator’s business services unit generated $1.01 billion in revenues in the third quarter of 2014, putting it on an annual run rate of more than $4 billion. 

Comcast Business said it’s splashing some cash on Knoxville to expand the availability of 10-Gig services via its fiber-based Ethernet platform, which features private line, virtual private line, and dedicated Internet and multipoint-to-multipoint network service offerings.

“We have come a long way with our redevelopment effort in Knoxville and Knox County, and partnering with companies like Comcast has been a key factor in the city’s growth,” said Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, in a statement. “Comcast’s multi-million dollar investment in Knoxville’s technology infrastructure will help revitalize the community, attract new businesses and encourage existing ones to grow, making Knoxville a formidable player in recruiting organizations from the technology industry.”

“Knoxville continues to establish itself as a leading technology hub, attracting some of the world’s premier organizations,” added Bob Deckard, vice president for Comcast Business. “Despite this positive trend, however, many local businesses still lack ‘last mile’ access to high-speed services, a real challenge in today’s global marketplace. Our investment will help businesses grow their operations, reinforcing Knoxville as a destination of choice for organizations of all sizes.”

Comcast Business said its Ethernet services are delivered over a network that now spans 140,000 miles across 39 states and Washington, D.C., and 20 of the top 25 U.S. markets.

While the bulk of Comcast Business’ revenues come from small businesses served off the MSO’s HFC plant, the operator’s Ethernet platform has been boosting its contribution as the operator continues to sign on more mid-sized commercial customers.

Last month, Vertical Systems reported that Comcast had risen two spots – from number eight to number six – on its mid-year 2014 U.S. Carrier Ethernet Leaderboard, which sets a threshold of 4% or more of billable port installations.

Overall, Comcast’s business services arm raked in $965 million in the second quarter of 2014, up from $788 million in the year-ago quarter, putting the division on pace for $3.76 billion for all of 2014.

Opening up a new revenue growth opportunity, Comcast Business said Choice Hotels International has selected the operator as a “qualified vendor” for business-class data, video and voice services.

Under the agreement, Comcast Business can be utilized by any of more than 5,000 Choice Hotels franchise properties across the U.S. that are in the MSO’s service footprint.

Choice Hotels operates several brands, including Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality Inn, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Hotels & Suites, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn and Ascend Hotels.

Comcast Business, which offers a product line tailored for hospitality clients, noted that Choice Hotels picks qualified vendors via an evaluation of hundreds of potential partners that must meet standards on pricing, experience with hospitality clients, and overall financial stability.

“In the hospitality industry, the key to building brand loyalty is to deliver a consistent, high-quality experience, especially in meeting guest expectations for reliable, high-speed Internet access and a robust HD solution,” said Alex Sewell, executive director, emerging markets, Comcast Business, in a statement. “Choice Hotels has a rich history of implementing technological innovations for their guests, including offering the first global hotel application for the smart phone, and we look forward to working with their franchisees to provide our advanced technology solutions.”

The hospitality sector is just one of several growth opportunities being pursued by Comcast Business, which pulled in total revenues of $917 million in the first quarter of 2014, establishing an annual run rate of $3.66 billion

Access to WiFi has become so important that it's now viewed as an amenity for small business owners that has surpassed old mainstays such as magazines and candy, a new survey from Comcast Business found.

The MSO-commissioned Small Business WiFi Survey, which was conducted by Bredin Research and polled 602 principals and IT decision-makers at U.S. companies with 1 to 100 employees late last year, found that “Main Street” business owners (coffee shops, bars, restaurants, dentist offices, et al) view WiFi as equally or more effective at making patrons feel welcome than amenities such as magazines (94%), community bulletin boards (91%), candy (90%), and even water (86%).

Among other findings, 79% of business owners said offering WiFi keps customers happy, while 65% reported that it encouraged repeat business, and 55% said it has helped to drive new customers.

The report also shed light on what’s stopping some biz owners from opening a WiFi spigot -- fears of tech support, employee distraction (both 33%), and costs (32%). Still, most businesses surveyed (61%) that do not currently offer WiFi plan to offer it soon, or are at least considering it.

Given those trends, it’s probably no surprise that WiFi has become a key piece of the services puzzle for Comcast and its rapidly growing business services unit.

Comcast Business currently offers customers private WiFi connectivity with secure SSIDs and, in some instances, also enables access points in business locations to broadcast SSIDs that are accessible by Comcast cable modem subscribers and consumers that get broadband from other members of the “Cable WiFi” roaming alliance (other members include Cablevision Systems, Bright House, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications).

Small commercial customers are also asking Comcast for ways to use WiFi to help them win incremental business, as WiFi access shifts from a differentiator to a “table stakes” component, said Mike Tighe, executive director of data services for Comcast Business.

In response, Comcast Business, he said, is developing an "amenity" WiFi product for small business customers that, for example, could provide access to a company-branded SSID alongside tailored usage rules, security mechanisms, and other terms of service.

Comcast Business, he explained, hasn’t set a specific launch date for a new public-facing amenity WiFi platform, but the plan is to carve out separate bandwidth for it so it does not affect or otherwise intermingle with the data that a customer is using to conduct its day-to-day business operations.

As for terms of service, the amenity WiFi offering will offer enough smarts to set content filters and other security and control mechanism to keep the business owner protected while still providing a “robust experience” to its patrons, Tighe said.

This coming amenity offering represents another step in Comcast’s WiFi evolution. The MSO has deployed more than 1 million quasi-public access points via a mix deployments in outdoor locations, at business venues and in home-side cable modem gateways, and recently claimed that it will breach the 8 million mark by the end of the year.