Comcast increased the speeds of four of its service tiers at no charge and made two announcements aimed at households enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which is slated to begin winding down next month.
Comcast has doubled its Connect tier from 75 Mbps to 150 Mbps. Connect More has moved from 200 Mbps to 300 Mbps; and the Fast tier moves from 400 Mbps to 500 Mbps. Xfinity Prepaid has been increased by a factor of four, from 50 Mbps to 200 Mbps. The speed increases are available to both new and existing customers.
ACP, which provides $30 per month ($75 on Tribal lands) toward the cost of broadband, is set to expire if no new funding is approved by Congress. Service providers face some choices in how to wind down their participation.
For its part, Comcast may be sending a message of support in combining the announcement of the speed increases with insight into how it will try to help ACP participants deal with the close of the program.
The service provider advised that new and existing Xfinity customers who use the ACP should contact the company to learn what offers may be available in their areas. The company said its goal is to help them find connectivity that fits their needs and budgets without the benefit the program provides.
The company noted that Xfinity customers enrolled in ACP are automatically eligible to enroll in Internet Essentials, which provides speeds up to 50 Mbps, for $9.95 per month. They also can enroll in Internet Essentials Plus, which doubles the speed of Internet Essentials, for $29.95 per month. Neither requires credit checks or has cancellation fees and both include equipment.
”We have regularly increased speeds over the past two decades to provide customers with the connectivity they need to power their increasingly connected lives,” Emily Waldorf, Comcast’s senior vice president, Consumer Internet Services, said in a press release.
“And, with the potential that funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program will not be renewed, this year we have really leaned into boosting speeds for these customers so that they can take advantage of these new capabilities.”
