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Comcast Officially Opens New Call Center in Irving That Created 300 New Jobs in the Dallas Metropolitan Area

Posted on: Friday, 4 June 2004, 06:00 CDT

IRVING, Texas, June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast today announced the company would officially open its new call center in the Dallas Metropolitan area with a press conference and reception on Friday, June 4, 2004 at 11 a.m. inside the new facility located at 3301 West Royal Lane in Irving. Nearly 100 local, state and federal officials, as well as representatives from the business and non-profit communities, will join Comcast managers and employees to celebrate the event. There will be live demonstrations of the latest new products and services such as Comcast Digital Cable, Comcast High-Speed Internet Service, Comcast Home Networking and Comcast's Digital Video Recorder Service (DVR).

Comcast's new 86,000 square-foot facility will house more than 450 employees including customer service personnel, technical operations teams and Comcast's local customer service management for the Dallas Metropolitan area. The new facility allowed Comcast to create 300 new jobs resulting in a $61 million economic impact to the region.

The new building in Irving will also allow Comcast customers to call local employees should they have a question about their service. Calls from the Dallas market regarding cable or Internet service are routed to the new call center on Royal Lane so that customers are able to speak with a person who is familiar with the communities within the Dallas area where local customers live and work.

"Comcast prides itself on being a local company and a major participant in the community. Our Irving Call Center also enhances the local economy through the creation of jobs and the introduction of new products and services," said Mike Cleland, Area Vice President for the Dallas market. "This is an exciting time for our customers in the Dallas market. Comcast has recently invested $70 million in technology infrastructure to launch innovative products such as High Definition Television, Digital Video Recorders and Home Networking service. We are also committed to providing top quality customer service through the opening of this wonderful new facility," added Cleland.

Comcast will conduct live demonstrations of many of the products and services that the company launched through its investment in fiber-optic technology. These products and services will give customers more choice and control over their home entertainment experience and will change the way customers can interact with information, entertainment and each other.

Some of the products that will be on display are:

Comcast Digital Cable

Comcast Digital Cable provides customers with more than 250 channels featuring the best of news, sports and entertainment. Customers can enjoy crystal-clear digital picture and CD quality sound that will make their viewing experience even more enjoyable. Comcast Digital Cable also makes it easier for customers to find the programs that they want to watch through a special interactive program guide that allows the customers to search for shows by name, title, channel or topic. It also provides comprehensive parental controls that allow parents to block specific types of programs that they do not want their children to watch.

Comcast High Definition Television (HDTV)

Comcast HDTV technology provides video and audio that is clearer, sharper and more vibrant than previous video transmission systems. HDTV features a wide-screen picture similar to a movie theater with more than two million pixels per screen, and superior color resolution over today's television. The service is available for customers with an HDTV-ready television set and uses a Digital Cable box provided by Comcast, so customers don't need to purchase additional equipment. This box receives and decodes the broadcast into a signal that a high definition television can read.

Comcast carries eleven high-definition channels including WFAA-TV (ABC), KTVT-TV (CBS), KXAS-TV (NBC), and enhanced wide-screen digital programming from Fox. Comcast also offers other popular channels in high-definition including INHD, INHD2, HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, and Starz! Sports fans can enjoy the excitement of their favorite sports in crystal-clear high definition with ESPN HD.

Comcast Digital Video Recorder (DVR)

The revolutionary DVR service gives customers complete VCR functionality with live television. Customers can pause, rewind and record live TV with the touch of a button through Comcast's DVR converter box. In addition, Comcast's DVR service is equipped with a new feature that gives customers with high- definition-capable TV sets the ability to record high-definition programming.

Comcast gives customers an easy to navigate DVR menu that provides step- by-step explanations on how to utilize all of the exciting features. Customers can save between 30 and 50 hours of programming on their DVR converter box after they have recorded it with the DVR service. DVR allows customers to watch television on their terms and catch their favorite shows at a time when it is convenient for them. The DVR service eliminates having to make sure that a television viewer is home when his or her favorite show is on the air. Now Comcast Digital Cable customers can easily program their DVR converter box to record all of the programs that they want to watch when it is convenient.

Comcast High-Speed Internet

Comcast High-Speed Internet service is the #1 Internet service in America, providing users with a 100 percent pure broadband experience. CHSI gives users download speeds up to 3Mbps, which is up to three times faster than 768Kbps DSL and up to 50 times faster than a traditional 56K dial-up modem. Comcast High-Speed Internet service is always on through a constantly maintained network so customers never need to dial up for service, and do not need a dedicated phone line.

Thanks to its blazing download speeds, Comcast's High-Speed Internet makes even the most robust content on the Internet easily accessible from streaming movie clips to games to music to news. CHSI also features "The Fan," which is a special interactive device designed specifically for Comcast customers that allows users to click on and watch streaming video content featuring information about local news, weather, movie trailers, sports highlights and much more! Comcast High-Speed Internet customers also have access to 24-hour customer support through the phone, e-mail or chat.

Comcast Home Networking

Comcast Home Networking expands beyond simply sharing files and printers -- to a world that encompasses interactive gaming, music, streaming video, and more. Installation and maintenance is simple, with Comcast handling set-up, equipment management, system management, and any troubleshooting.

The Comcast Home Networking service package offers enhanced speeds, a wireless home gateway device (integrated cable modem and router), and networking gear for up to five devices in the home. Users can connect PCs or broadband-capable devices, and households can share access to the Internet, files, CD drives and printers across the network. In addition, users can access speeds of up to 4 Mbps downstream and 384 kbps upstream for seamless high-speed access across multiple devices.

Comcast is also working with the industry's most innovative companies to ensure rapid development and seamless integration of new applications and devices to provide the ultimate consumer experience.

Features and Functionality:

A highly intelligent system, Comcast Home Networking is not intimidating, because it comes complete with a host of special features that are intuitively easy to use:

-- Multiple Connections - With Comcast Home Networking, users can

connect up to five computers or entertainment/information devices to

one high-speed Internet account.

-- Increased Speed - Comcast Home Networking offers increased speeds of

up to 4.0 Mbps downloads and 384 kbps uploads.

-- Security - Comcast Home Networking protects devices on the home

network in three different areas:

From the public Internet, through the built-in firewall that includes

NAT (Network Address Translation), to help protect users' IP

addresses from the outside.

From unauthorized wireless access, by using the wireless encryption

protocol (WEP) standard for data encryption. Comcast Home

Networking's WEP settings default to the highest industry standard.

In the home, through time-of-day parental controls that enable users

to: control Internet access for specific users on the network, view

Internet activity, and block specific Web sites. Features include:

Internet Access Time Limits, Web Site Blocking, and Internet Activity

Log. Plus, password-protection helps prevent unauthorized users from

making changes to the Feature Set-Up.

-- Professional Installation - Networking the home is as easy as picking

up the phone when Comcast's installation team does all the work.

They will even bring the equipment, including the router, with a

built-in cable modem.

-- 24/7 Support - Comcast will provide technical support, as well as

support for the gateway and equipment. Comcast will replace faulty

or defective equipment as needed.

About Comcast Cable

Comcast recently celebrated its one-year anniversary in the Dallas market. In that time, it has introduced more than a dozen new channel offerings to the community, including new channels for the Hispanic community, completed a $70 million upgrade to its cable network, established a new call center creating more than 300 jobs, doubled the speed of our High Speed Internet service at no charge, introduced a new Comcast Teleworker Service, a new high speed Internet Service for home-based employees, launched Hospitality One, a new high speed Internet Service for the hotel industry, and launched High Definition Television service in the Dallas area.

Headquartered in Philadelphia, Comcast Cable is a division of Comcast Corporation, a developer, manager and operator of broadband cable networks and provider of programming content. With a presence in 22 of the top 25 United States markets, Comcast is one of the leading communications, media and entertainment companies in the world. Providing basic cable, Digital Cable, high-speed Internet and telephone services, Comcast is the company to look to first for the communications products and services that connect people to what's important in their lives. The company's 59,000 employees serve more than 21 million customers.

Comcast, whose regional offices are located in Irving, serves more than half a million customers and employs more than 1,400 people in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Comcast Cable

CONTACT: Angel Biasatti, Executive Director of Communications of ComcastCable, +1-972-830-3811, or cell, +1-214-213-7686

Web site: http://www.comcast.com/

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