Comcast Turns on Wi-Fi Hot Spots Throughout Chicago Area

Find out where the internet hot spots are in Evanston.

Comcast has turned on more than 1,000 wi-fi hotspots throughout the Chicago suburbs. While the hotspots are meant to help Xfinity Wi-Fi customers connect more easily while on the go, the company will be running a promotion that allows anyone to use the hotspots from May 24 through July 4, according to the Chicago Tribune. According to the Comcast website some local wi-fi hotspots include: More hotspot locations can be found by searching the Comcast website.  You can also search for a network on your computer by searching for networks named "xfinitywifi" or "cablewifi," according to the Chicago Tribune. 

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District 65 Students Not Taking Full Advantage of Cheap Internet Access

Only 6 percent of eligible students at Evanston-Skokie School District 65 participate in a Comcast program that offers cheap Internet access to low-income families.

  Cook County has more families taking part in a Comcast program that offers cheap Internet access to low-income families than any other county in the country, but the program is underutilized at by eligible students at Evanston-Skokie School District 65, the Daily Northwestern reported.  At District 65 about 41 percent of students qualify for the program, but only about 6 percent of eligible students participate, according District 65 Communications Director Pat Markham, the Daily Northwestern reported.  Comcast’s Internet Essentials program provides low-income families with Internet access at a reduced rate, according to the company’s website. 

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Comcast Doubles Down Your Internet Speed

In a surprising move, Comcast has now increased their blast package from 25 mbps to 50 mbps at no additional cost. I know, right?

Call me skeptical. But according to a Comcast spokesperson, customers with the Internet "Blast!" package will now have double the speed, from 25 Mbps to 50 Mbps. For those that aren't in the know, that's a lot of extra horsepower. "The changes will go into effect [around March 4]," said Comcast Corporate Communications Director Angelynne Amores. With the extra speed, you could download a 1 gigabyte file in about 3 to 4 minutes. Customers will not incur any cost for the added speeds. Specifically, the "Blast!" plan is increasing download speeds from up to 25 Mbps to speeds up to 50 Mbps and upload speeds from up to 4 Mbps  to up to 10 Mbps, while "Extreme" 50 customers will receive download speeds up to 105 Mbps (formerly 50 Mbps) and …

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About Town

Discreet?

AT&T’s video-ready access devices still stick out like…video-ready access devices.

When AT&T began to install their video-ready access devices (VRADs) all around town a few years ago, the uproar was huge.  Time and again, I’d hear arguments along the lines of, “You’ll be happy they’re here!” and “Once the bushes grow in, you won’t even notice them.” Just look at the full hydrangeas around this device near the corner of Dempster Street and Maple Avenue.  If you squint really hard and zoom in on the picture, you might be able to see the box and its graffiti.  Full disclosure: as a Comcast customer, I have no loyalty to AT&T’s U-verse system.  I don’t even understand it, though I wanted to scrap any connection with Comcast last week when, after a full month, they still hadn’t come out to repair a downed cable line that hung…

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About Town

How Cable Nearly Destroyed Thanksgiving Weekend

One Evanston woman's struggle with "free" channels.

My friend Mary just informed me Comcast Cable nearly destroyed her Thanksgiving weekend. I assumed her service had been interrupted -- until she explained that the company  added nearly every possible channel from its arsenal over the holiday weekend.  In Mary's mind, that was a bad thing:  The family was glued to the television.  All weekend.  My gut instinct was to swallow my envy.  "Free?" I asked, wondering if we'd been graced with the same treatment.  "Oh, yes, free.  All of it.  Every channel.  Every show.  EVERY show," she said.  "I couldn't drag them away." "Ooooh," I said, imagining her kids lined up with popcorn on the floor, channel surfing shows with silly names that make me blush. "Shows like 'Animal House' ... which frankly, …

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Budget Marathon to Air on Local Cable Oct. 1-3

Budget workshops will be aired on Comcast Cable Channel 16.

Grab a blanket and a bowl of popcorn -- Comcast channel 16 will air a marathon of Evanston budget workshops from Oct. 1-3. The marathon will include video feeds from a special city council mid-year budget update and two community budget workshops, one from Sept. 14 and one that will happen on Wednesday. Residents can learn more about the budget process on the city's website, at www.cityofevanston.org/budget. A statement released by the city said residents will soon be able to vote online for budget priorities for the 2011 Fiscal Year.

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About Town

Surprising Service

Examples of above-and-beyond service in Evanston.

It's pretty easy to let the current economic times bring us all down.   Jobs and budgets continue to get slashed.  Attitudes are often, at best, "testy." We all see it.  We all feel it.  It's easy to let the auto-pilot run, assuming everyone and everything is just a downer.   There's even been a cat missing in our neighborhood, and the owner's posted more signs up than I've ever seen for a missing animal.  Times are tough ... ... unless you live in Evanston, where little surprises might turn your attitude around.  For instance:  I had a Comcast appointment scheduled today between 4-7 p.m. because my internet has been running sssssssssssssslow.  I braced myself for disappointment, assuming the technician would show up late or not at all, …

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