Comcast beefs up area infrastructure

Comcast is expanding its Internet infrastructure in the Michiana region.

The company is stitching together a nationwide network of Xfinity Wi-Fi hot spots using routers in customers’ homes. Each router has two networks: one personal network for the subscriber who lives there and another network called “XfinityWiFi” that is accessible to the public.

The goal is to create a blanket of public Wi-Fi coverage in neighborhoods apart from typical hot spots such as libraries and coffee shops. More than 7,100 neighborhood hot spots have gone live in St. Joseph County since Comcast started the initiative here last year, according to the company. The number is expected to reach 8 million nationwide by the end of this year.

Comcast also plans to install several Xfinity hot spots in public places this year in Michiana.

The company also is expanding its fiber network to Ralph Jones Industrial Park in South Bend and Wyland Drive Industrial Park in Elkhart. Those extensions will make Internet access with speeds of up to 10 gigabytes per second available to nearly 150 businesses across the two parks.