NEW CASTLE, Del., April 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast Cable's Eastern Division today announced plans to open a new 800-seat, state-of-the-art customer support center in Newark, Delaware. The Division also announced it will hire an additional 800 employees in Delaware over the next 12 months, bringing its total to 2,300 across the state. In the past year, Comcast's Eastern Division has increased its employee base by more than 25%, and earlier this year announced plans to fill more than 2,800 new positions in 2007, the majority in frontline, customer-impacting roles. Once fully operational, the Newark center will handle customer service, sales and support for all of Comcast products and services. It joins Comcast's four existing local call centers in the Philadelphia Metro Region, including one in New Castle, DE; the Eastern Division also operates a customer service center in Dover, DE that serves the lower two counties of Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Situated at 300 North Wakefield Drive, the 115,000 square-foot center will provide 24x7 support for Comcast customers in the northern Delaware and greater Philadelphia areas. The space will feature state-of-the-art technology and a host of employee-oriented amenities including an exercise center, cafeteria, auditorium, break rooms, training/meeting facilities and convenient on-site parking, and is located just off I-95, convenient to a host of shopping, restaurants and entertainment venues. The lease for the new customer support center was brokered by American Financial Realty Trust of Jenkintown, PA, and Comcast expects to have its first employees situated there late this summer, with a grand opening event slated for end of year.

"In an age where more companies are outsourcing customer service jobs overseas, I am pleased that Comcast has committed to further investment and continued growth here in Delaware," Governor Ruth Ann Minner said. "I believe this is a testament to our state's attractive business climate, and I look forward to Comcast's expansion and continued commitment to Delaware."

Comcast's Eastern Division credits its expansion to phenomenal growth in all aspects of its business, with an emphasis on the Triple Play bundle of video, high-speed Internet and residential phone service, introduced in Northern Delaware last spring. The Division expects to end 2007 with more than one million Comcast Digital Voice customers, and is seeing unprecedented growth in its Digital Cable business, with more than three million subscribers who used its ON DEMAND service almost half a billion times last year. More than one in three new customers are signing up for the Triple Play bundle, and a strong majority of the Division's customers now have Digital Cable and Comcast High Speed Internet.

"Our new customer support center will utilize the most advanced technologies and tools to help us deliver an outstanding experience to every one of our customers, every time," said Michael Doyle, president, Comcast Cable Eastern Division and founder, CN8, The Comcast Network. "We have always believed in investing in and giving back to the local communities in which we live and work, and are excited that we have the opportunity to welcome hundreds of talented, passionate Delaware residents into the Comcast family to help us better serve our customers."

"Comcast's expansion in the suburban Newark area will bring hundreds of new employment opportunities for residents and a renewed commitment to our community by a well respected corporate citizen," said New Castle County Executive Chris Coons. "We are excited to work with Comcast and look forward to their plans for additional hiring in the next few years. I thank Governor Ruth Ann Minner and the Delaware Economic Development Office for their dedicated leadership in this effort and others to ensure our local economy continues to grow."

Comcast offers extensive career-path options along with competitive pay, medical, dental and prescription benefits, retirement investment options, and free and discounted Comcast services. Applicants can learn more about specific positions at a number of upcoming area career fairs and are encouraged to review job profiles and opportunities at http://www.comcast.com/, where they can also apply for positions online.

About Comcast and Comcast Cable's Eastern Division

Headquartered in Philadelphia, Comcast Cable is a division of Comcast Corporation , the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. With 24.2 million cable customers, 11.5 million high-speed Internet customers and 2.5 million digital voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable networks and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast's Cable's Eastern Division currently serves more than 5.4 million customers along the New York to DC corridor, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia and North Carolina. The Eastern Division also founded and manages CN8, The Comcast Network, one of the nation's largest and most honored regional 24-hour diversified television networks, seen by more than nine million homes on the East Coast. The Eastern Division is based in Oaks, Pennsylvania.

CONTACT: Jeff Alexander of Comcast Cable Eastern Division,
+1-610-650-3065, jeff_alexander@cable.comcast.com

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