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Comcast (CMCSA) Expanding Footprint in Oregon and Washington

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Comcast (CMCSA - Free Report) recently announced that it would expand the availability of Xfinity 10G Network in rural communities of Eagle Creek, Estacada, Mt. Angel and Silverton in OR; and Battleground, Chattaroy, Key Peninsula and Sumas in WA.

Comcast plans to invest $280 million to expand broadband and TV services to approximately 60K additional homes and businesses across areas this year.

It aims to provide the community with donations, in-kind services and expanding fiber-rich network improvements that will bring forth 10x faster upload speeds than they have now.

The first phase of enhancements will offer a maximum download speed of 2 Gbps and upload speeds of up to 200 Mbps. Comcast expects to offer multi-gig Internet speeds to nearly 40% of its network in the Pacific Northwest by the end of 2023.

For the past three years, Comcast has been in the network expansion and upgrades in Oregon and Washington to support growing Internet usage by rural communities. It invested about $1 billion in technology and infrastructure development in OR and WA.

The investment will help build awareness about Internet essentials providing free services to eligible households, thereby supporting the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program.

 

Comcast Expanding Network to Aid Top Line

In December 2022, Comcast announced its next-generation Xfinity 10G network based on DOCSIS 4.0 technology. The network delivers three times faster broadband speeds, capable of handling multiple 4K streaming and gaming.

Comcast has successfully gained approximately one billion Xfinity customers using their network and more than 10 million internet-only customers taking gigabit speed products and consuming an average of 700 GB of data each month.

It aims to expand its digital footprint in remote parts of the United States, providing users with the necessary skills, resources and opportunities to reduce digital inequalities.

In March 2023, Comcast announced its network expansion to serve more people in the growing Pueblo County area.

In February 2023, Comcast announced its expansion with the next-generation Xfinity 10G network across several southeast Texas counties.

To promote digital equality, CMCSA came up with Project UP, backed by a $1-billion commitment to empower the community falling under low-income groups. It encompasses Internet Essentials, Lift Zones, Digital Navigators and Comcast RISE.

Comcast Suffering From Stiff Competition

Comcast’s fourth-quarter 2022 results reflected slowing broadband and customer relationships primarily due to the reversal of pandemic trends and challenging macroeconomic conditions.

Broadband and NBCUniversal prospects are suffering due to stiff competition from the likes of Charter Communications (CHTR - Free Report) , Disney (DIS - Free Report) and Netflix (NFLX - Free Report)

Comcast lost 26K broadband customers in fourth-quarter 2022, whereas Charter added 105K customers.

Shares of Comcast have declined 23.8% in the past year outperforming the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector, which plunged 24.4% in the same time frame.

Shares of Charter, Disney and Netflix have declined 39.1%, 32.8% and 16.3% in the past year, respectively.

Comcast reported a 1.4% year-over-year revenue increase in fourth-quarter 2022. The broadband revenue increased 5.4% year-over-year to $6.18 billion.

Moreover, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company reported earnings of 82 cents per share, which increased 6.5% year over year. The earnings beat the Zacks consensus estimate by 5.13%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal first quarter revenues is pegged at $29.92 billion, indicating a decline in growth of 3.51% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

The consensus mark for earnings has remained unchanged at 83 cents per share in the past 30 days.

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