This post has been brought to you through a partnership with Comcast, but as usual, all opinions are my own.

Last week I had a chance to attend a fun and informative event to learn how Comcast is working to bring even more to our community, when we need it the most! Here are my favorite moments how Moving Forward With Comcast is the best decision you can make in 2020!

Moving Forward With Comcast

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion commitment

I was very excited to hear that Comcast has developed a comprehensive, multiyear plan to allocate $100 million to fight injustice and inequality.

They will partner with, and provide significant grants to organizations working to eradicate injustice and inequity.

Organizations will include but not be limited to: The National Urban League, the Equal Justice Initiative, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Action Network and the Community Justice Action Fund.

I also love that they will deepen their company’s long-standing commitment to addressing digital inequities, which disproportionately impacts communities of color.

Over the last 10 years, Comcast’s Internet Essentials has connected more than eight million low-income people to the internet at home.

Beyond connectivity, Comcast is scaling up their pledge to provide digital skills training to young people and to upskilling adults with the aim of improving economic mobility.

They are supporting organizations such as Black Girls Code, which empowers girls of color to become innovators in STEM fields, and BUILD, which ignites the potential of young people from under-resourced communities – just two examples.

Comcast RISE grant program for small businesses

You know I am a small business owner and that I serve other small businesses, so it makes me very happy to hear that Comcast, through their RISE initiative, is offering thousands of grants, equipment, marketing and tech resources to small businesses hardest hit by COVID! Small businesses go through a lot when they are navigating their way through the business world, and if they have just started up during COVID, they need to make sure they have stability in what they are doing. Because of this, they will need to utilize services available to them, from using NCOALink software for correct postal addresses to connect them with customers and/or clients, all the way to getting financial relief from their local government.

5G News

Comcast announced Xfinity Mobile is expanding its 5G coverage nationwide, offering the latest generation of wireless connectivity across the U.S.

Xfinity Mobile’s nationwide 5G network is available on all Xfinity Mobile data options and can be accessed by all 5G-enabled devices in the Xfinity Mobile portfolio.

Customers can purchase the leading 5G-enabled smartphones at www.xfinitymobile.com.

Whether customers choose to pay for Unlimited or By-the-Gig data options, nationwide 5G services will be available to all Xfinity Mobile customers at no additional charge.

At $15 for 1GB with By-the-Gig or $45 for one line of Unlimited, Xfinity Mobile offers the lowest 5G entry price of any provider in the country.

Peacock

Peacock, NBCUniversal’s new highly anticipated streaming service, officially launched this summer, offering consumers across the country a world-class collection of the best live and on demand programming from NBCUniversal and beyond.

The free tier will feature more than 13,000 hours of premium programming; the premium tier will feature more than 20,000 hours.

New live sports to stream on Peacock Include USGA Open Championships, Tour De France, 175 exclusive Premier League matches for the 2020-2021 season, an NFL Wild Card Game, Ryder Cup, and the Tokyo and Beijing Olympics.

Premiere dates announced for new Peacock originals including ‘A.P. Bio’, ‘Departure’, ‘Five Bedrooms’ and ‘Hitmen’.

HULU

Who doesn’t love HULU?

Hulu is rolled out to both Flex & X1 customers! Isn’t that exciting?

Hulu joins Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and hundreds of other streaming options available on X1 and Flex – bringing us more choice in entertainment.

If you haven’t heard of Xfinity Flex, it’s included with Xfinity Internet and brings even more value to consumers beyond the fastest speeds, best coverage and unmatched home control and security.

Customers can say “Hulu” into the Xfinity Voice Remote to launch the app or find Hulu programming throughout the X1 and Flex guide.

As for my Australian readers, you can also get access to streaming services like Hulu and subscribe to it, so you can enjoy the latest shows and movies. To make this viewing time more pleasurable, you may want to check out a few guides on how to watch Hulu Australia and follow the pointers that are provided there. You may also get Hulu plus plans as well as add-ons like Showtime, HBO Max, Starz, and Cinemax.

Remote Learning

You know my son has been doing virtual learning since the pandemic broke out, so between my husband and I working full time from home, his school and everything that we have going on, we needed Wi-Fi reinforcements, right?

Wrong! Comcast proved to be ahead of the pandemic, and we haven’t had our service down, nor slowed down during my son’s remote learning periods – not even during our business hours and work needs.

Here are some tips to help make sure your household is also running as smoothly as ours during the pandemic:

It’s all about location

The location of your Internet modem and router (called a “gateway” when combined in the same device) within your home can affect how far the Wi-Fi signal travels.

For the strongest and furthest connection, put your gateway in a central, elevated location so devices throughout your home can be reached.

Treat your gateway like a lamp. Avoid hiding it under the stairs, in a bookcase, in the basement, or on the ground where the Wi-Fi signal cannot penetrate as far.

Also, placing your gateway next to a window broadcasts your signal outside.

We’ve placed my son’s computer set up right by the router and hard wired it to it.

Coverage is Key

Equipped with Wi-Fi 6 technology, the 3rd Generation xFi Gateway delivers a fast, smart and powerful Wi-Fi connection across the entire home.

Depending on the size of your house, you may also benefit from Wi-Fi extenders. If your new workspace is in the basement or a spare bedroom, an extender expands the Wi-Fi signal to those harder-to-reach areas. Also, if you have set up your office in the basement area it becomes even more necessary to have it cleaned regularly. Well! You don’t want your socks to get dirty or damp every time you go downstairs, do you? Are your kids complaining about the odor, or are there patches of mold or mildew growing on the walls? Preventive cleaning, such as routine gutter cleaning or regular dusting, can sometimes be sufficient to keep problems at bay. However, depending on the nature of the problem (like stagnant water in your basement), you may need to combine basement waterproofing services (similar to Basement Waterproofing Kingston) to divert water away from your home’s foundations.

My Office is on the far end of the house and our home is 3,100 sq. ft. so I’m considering adding xFi Pods to my Holiday List.

Comcast recently introduced the next-generation of its xFi Pod – a mesh networking solution that can deliver 2x faster speeds and whole home Wi-Fi coverage.

Keep Tabs of What’s Connected

That Internet-connected egg poacher you got as a gift, connected once and never used again? There’s a good chance it’s on your network right now. The streaming device that your child left on in the basement might have streamed multiple seasons of their favorite show without anyone watching. It’s a really good idea to keep tabs on what devices are connected to your network, and how much they are being used. Xfinity Internet customers can monitor the devices using their home network with Xfinity xFi. Since the start of the pandemic, they have seen a 57 percent increase in people logging on to xFi daily as they control and manage their network.

Pause Wi-Fi for Unused Devices

xFi lets users prioritize the most important devices in their homes like school computers and work laptops, by pausing Wi-Fi on other, less important devices.

It’s great having the power to do that with the touch of a button!

Most of the time, this won’t be necessary, since our home gateways are designed to support dozens of simultaneously connected devices running smoothly.

But if everyone in the family is about to join a different videoconference at the same time, pausing Wi-Fi on less important devices can ensure that your Wi-Fi bandwidth goes where you want it.

By using xFi, you can pause Wi-Fi access over your home network instantly or during scheduled times, in fact, there has been a 75 percent increase in usage of this feature since March when COVID-19 closed workplaces and schools.

Holiday Fun

Loving the new Xfinity Voice Commands:

• Holiday: “Kids Holiday,” “Holiday Music,” “Santa Tracker” (just a few examples)
• You can say “Hang out with Rose” to see her collections & celebrity hangouts
• You can also say “What to watch” – scroll down and get to know all of our Xfinity Editors

Have you tried them?

Deptford Store

Comcast opened a new store 5 mins from my house and I’m ready to visit it and shop for my holiday favorites there, while being safe and social distancing!

The new Xfinity Retail Store, located outside the Deptford Mall is the 17th Xfinity Retail Store to open in New Jersey, it follows Comcast’s new, interactive model, and is designed entirely around the needs and feedback of Comcast customers.

This 4,000 square-foot center provides customers an immersive destination to discover and interact directly with the latest Xfinity products and services.

The opening of new Xfinity stores is part of Comcast’s multi-year strategy to transform the customer experience; the stores provide new and existing customers a place to learn how to optimize their Xfinity services and to address any service needs.

To keep employees and customers safe in the wake of COVID-19, all Xfinity Retail Stores are operating with increased safety measures including limiting store capacity, hand sanitizing stations, directional signage and clear barriers, disinfecting high-touch areas throughout the day, increased store cleanings throughout the day and requiring all employees and customers to wear face coverings.

Gloucester County’s newest Xfinity Retail Store is located at the Deptford Mall with a convenient outside entrance near Dick’s Sporting Goods and features trained and knowledgeable sales consultants, flat screen TVs, interactive iPads and a dedicated seating area for demonstrations of Xfinity products and apps.

Xfinity stores are designed strategically by product area -Xfinity Mobile, Xfinity X1, Xfinity Home and Xfinity Internet – so customers can see their industry-leading products in action.

• Xfinity Mobile is a key part of Xfinity stores – customers can purchase new mobile phones, iPads and Apple Watches or bring their own Apple or Samsung devices (qualifying models) and choose a flexible data plan based on their individual needs – electing to pay by the gig or choose unlimited.
• Discover xFi, the Xfinity personalized home WiFi experience, and learn how to view and control network devices through the app, site or voice remote in the Xfinity Internet zone.
• X1, their next generation video platform, is featured in a living room environment, so customers can try the voice remote and see how X1 works firsthand.
• The Connected Home Zone section showcases how Xfinity Home combines the best of home security and automation into one simple experience – customers can learn how they can control an increasing number of IoT devices from their phone, tablet or Xfinity Home touchscreen.

In addition to the latest mobile devices and top-of-the-line mobile accessories, retail offerings at the Deptford store includes Xfinity Home accessories and other merchandise that complements their services.

Time-saving features like self-serve bill pay and a queuing system allows customers to explore the store instead of waiting in line for service.

You can check out these and other amazing news items at https://ww.Xfinity.com

You can also about Comcast’s commitment to help our community get through this and its response to COVID HERE. (https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19) Can’t wait to hear what you think, as usual, give us a Trendy Shout!