Three years ago, Comcast Business added more than five miles of fiber optic network to Chicago’s Back of the Yards and Bridgeport neighborhoods. The network delivers internet speeds of up to 10 Gbps – and up to 100 Gbps on a case-by-case basis – to nearly 300 small- and medium-sized businesses in the industrial and business area from South Halsted Street west to South Ashland Avenue and from 31st Street south to 47th Street. Access to such fast and reliable connectivity has become a boon to local businesses and helped spur local job and economic growth. “We originally invested in Back of the Yards and Bridgeport in response to growing demand for our business technology, as well as to help stimulate economic growth in the local emerging business corridor,” said Jay Dirkmaat, regional vice president of Comcast Business. “Those goals still resonate today; by increasing bandwidth and speed, the addition of our advanced network has given the two neighborhoods access to applications, cloud services and the technology infrastructure necessary for local businesses to survive and compete.”

What’s more, the investment aligns with efforts many local communities are making to expand their telecommunications and information technology infrastructure to gain a competitive edge. For Craig Chico, president and CEO of the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council, Comcast’s fiber buildout has been a gamechanger in his ability to attract and retain businesses to the area. “When we market our community to prospective businesses, one of the first questions they ask is, ‘can I get fiber?'” said Chico. “Fiber access is a powerful differentiator and business magnet for us, since fast and reliable broadband is so critical to business success. It gives our local businesses a technology capability boost, which helps them expand and compete.” Another Back of the Yards company utilizing Comcast’s advanced technologies is La Guadalupana, a Hispanic food manufacturer and distributor with another location in Brighton Park, another Chicago neighborhood. “With Comcast Business’ services, we’re able to process orders and manage our sales team better than ever before,” said Alejandro Castro, president of La Guadalupana. “With our previous phone system, it was easy to lose track of orders and miss out on sales. That doesn’t happen anymore, because Comcast Business’ VoiceEdgecloud-based support allows us to take calls and retrieve messages regardless of our staff’s location. It’s a huge benefit that gives us peace-of-mind.”