Comcast, Philly reach deal to increase internet speeds

After 10 months of negotiations, the city of Philadelphia and Comcast have reached a deal to increase the speed of the city’s internet service.

Charles Brennan, the city’s chief information officer, said the new deal will increase the speed of internet service to 225 city facilities at a lower cost than they are currently charged.

“Our internet capacity is going to increase by a factor of 20 over what it is now, we will have 20 times more capacity to get out to the internet,” he said.

The deal also future-proofs the system as speeds increase, Brennan said.

“Our network, when we put it in with Comcast will carry 46 gigabits of information,” he said. “There’s a time after a few years where we can double it for no additional cost.”

The 15-year deal is tied to the Comcast cable franchise agreement.