Technology

Artificial Intelligence Big Data Cloud Computing Cyber Security Data Management Electronics Enterprise & Network Technology Financial Technology Hardware Mobile & Wireless Nanotechnology Semiconductor Software Telecommunications
News Release Digital Asset Direct

Industrial Defender and Technomak Partner to Secure Critical Infrastructure in the Middle East

Industrial Defender

Industrial Defender, an operational technology (OT) security pioneer, today announced a new partnership with Technomak, a global leader in industrial engineering, fabrication, and construction services, to deliver security-by-design for industrial control systems in the Middle East. Technomak will offer Industrial Defender’s Automation Systems Manager ® (ASM) as part of their industrial engineering projects to provide the highest level of cyber resilience possible for Middle Eastern critical infrastructure. “Technomak’s impressive engineering expertise and market knowledge combined with our powerful OT cybersecurity and compliance platform will greatly improve the cybersecurity posture of companies operating industrial control systems in the Middle East,” said Jim Crowley, CEO of Industrial Defender. “Industrial Defender’s specialized and unique technology of safely collecting, monitoring, and managing OT security data would add another milestone in Technomak’s overall offerings of turnkey delivery of Automation & Control Solutions to its customers. Technomak has been an industry leader in providing such solutions from design stage to the final testing & commissioning of these specialized systems. The OT cyber security offerings from Industrial Defender would give a complete protection from outside cyber threats to any critical infrastructure,” said Mohammed Haneefa, Co-Founder and Group MD of Technomak. To learn more about this partnership, reach out to Technomak at www.technomak.com or Industrial Defender at www.industrialdefender.com. About Industrial Defender Since 2006, Industrial Defender has been solving the challenge of safely collecting, monitoring, and managing OT asset data at scale, while providing cross-functional teams with a unified view of security. Their specialized solution is tailored to complex industrial control system environments by engineers with decades of hands-on OT experience. Easy integrations into the broader security and enterprise ecosystem empower IT teams with the same visibility, access, and situational awareness that they’re accustomed to on corporate networks. Learn more at www.industrialdefender.com. About Technomak Technomak has been involved in some of the most renowned and critical industrial projects in the Middle East region for almost two decades. In addition to the company’s prime focus into the Oil & Gas sector it also provides comprehensive solutions for each stage of a project life cycle into the Water, Power, Metals, Renewables, and Industrial sectors as well. Technomak’s offerings through its “Automation & Digital Solution” division helps industrial businesses enhance process visibility, achieve reliable controls, and gain enhanced and optimized productivity. To operate efficiently, there is an ever increase demand for the convergence of Operation Technology and Information technology. At Technomak we bridge this gap and ensure a seamless integration between the OT and IT platforms and at the same time mitigate all security risks of a plant operation. For more information, visit www.technomak.com. Contact Details Industrial Defender Erin Anderson +1 617-675-4206 eanderson@industrialdefender.com Technomak Energy International FZC Deepak Mishra (617) 675-4206 deepak.mishra@technomak.com Company Website https://www.industrialdefender.com

March 03, 2021 02:22 AM Eastern Standard Time

Kaskada™ Announces General Availability of its Feature Engineering Platform

Kaskada

Kaskada, a machine learning company that empowers data scientists to build and operate machine learning solutions, announced today the general availability of its feature engineering platform. This launch signifies that, after a period of beta testing with early adopters, the platform is ready for data science teams to use for a wide variety of use cases, including fraud, personalization, and recommendation engines. Machine learning is rapidly changing how companies do business and serve their customers. These opportunities, however, tend to be exploited most by large technology companies with significant resources invested in data collection, data processing, and productionization of machine learning, while others often struggle to achieve the same level of results. A key missing piece of getting to success is a data infrastructure that bridges the gap between model training and live serving of machine learning results in production environments. Kaskada’s feature engineering platform is the first ML platform for data scientists that focuses on the feature engineering and feature serving experience. The platform includes a collaborative interface for data scientists and is powered by proprietary data infrastructure for computing across event-based data and serving features in production. “Kaskada’s feature engineering platform is designed to make truly hard data problems in machine learning easy,” said Davor Bonaci, Kaskada co-founder and CEO. “Data science teams can now work better together, build better features and deliver results at a whole new level. I cannot wait to see what kind of impact they’ll accomplish in the months and years to come.” Some of the most impactful machine learning models use real-time, event-based data, which provides valuable insights on how behavior changes over time. This data type is one of the most difficult to handle because of the lack of efficient data infrastructure needed to calculate features at arbitrary points in time and to deliver such features to both training and production environments. “The biggest obstacle for data scientists today isn’t building the fanciest models,” said Max Boyd, Data Science Lead at Kaskada. “It is the inability of current data platforms to bridge the gap between training and production, particularly with the computation of features derived from event-based data. In past roles, we struggled to use event-based data to its full potential because of infrastructure limitations and spent a lot of time hacking around the problem for minimal gains. Kaskada is a game changer for building and operating quality machine learning models with event-based data.” “Unlike many data products, Kaskada is available to individual data scientists and companies alike. It is free for many scenarios and requires no setup,” added Bonaci. “We invite data scientists with fraud, dynamic pricing, personalization and similar event-based use cases to sign up, onboard, and join our growing data science community.” Catch Kaskada in action at the Feature Stores for ML Global Meetup, a free event on March 16, 2021. Pricing and Availability The Kaskada Feature Engineering Platform is available starting today. The platform is free to start and data scientists have the option to pay to add additional users, manage more data, and access additional features. Sign up and onboard at https://kaskada.com/. About Kaskada Kaskada is a machine learning company that empowers data scientists to collaborate on the feature engineering process and to achieve repeatable success with models running in production. Kaskadaâs feature engineering platform provides a collaborative interface for data scientists and robust data infrastructure for computing, storing, and serving features in production. Visit https://kaskada.com/ for more information. © Kaskada Inc. Kaskada is a trademark of Kaskada Inc. Feature Stores for ML Global Meetup is a joint industry effort by Logical Clocks AB and Kaskada Inc. Contact Details Owen Media Forrest Carman +1 206-859-3118 press@kaskada.com

March 02, 2021 09:00 AM Pacific Standard Time

Patricia Elias Named CSG Chief People and Places Officer

CSG

CSG® (NASDAQ: CSGS) today announced the appointment of Patricia Elias as the company’s new Chief People and Places Officer. A people-oriented, global business leader, she brings a proven track-record of driving innovation, integrity and impact that will help CSG harness the power and collective talents of its more than 4,800 global employees. “As CSG continues to evolve, we are thrilled to have Patricia’s rich experience developing people strategies to help drive our growth and industry leadership,” CSG CEO Brian Shepherd said. “She is an impressive leader who has proven she can excite, inspire, develop and lead a global team.” “People and culture are at the heart of everything we do. Staying true to our values while accelerating our strategic growth and transformation will enable us to build an even more inclusive, innovative, and agile CSG,” Shepherd added. Elias joins CSG from ServiceSource International, where she served on the executive team as their chief legal and people officer, providing oversight of global human resources, legal, and compliance. “I’m excited to join CSG and a leadership team that recognizes the impact a growth mindset and inclusive culture can have on business success,” Elias said. “I look forward to sharing my passion for fostering equitable, employee-centric programs to create an even more meaningful, intentional, and diverse employee experience at this dynamic company.” Elias began her career practicing corporate and securities law and later served as corporate counsel for ViaWest and Flextronics. Combining her legal experience and enthusiasm for learning, she also served three years as a lecturer of business law and public policy at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business. She holds a J.D. from Georgetown University and a B.A. in Psychology from Duke University. # # # About CSG For more than 35 years, CSG has simplified the complexity of business, delivering innovative customer engagement solutions that help companies acquire, monetize, engage and retain customers. Operating across more than 120 countries worldwide, CSG manages billions of critical customer interactions annually, and its award-winning suite of software and services allow companies across dozens of industries to tackle their biggest business challenges and thrive in an ever-changing marketplace. CSG is the trusted provider for driving digital innovation for hundreds of leading global brands, including Airtel Africa, América Móvil, AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast, DISH, Formula 1, Hutchison 3 Indonesia, Inmarsat, Mastercard, Maximus, Mediacom, Microsoft, Mobily, MTN, New Leaf, State of California, TalkTalk and Telstra. To learn more, visit our website at csgi.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Copyright © 2021 CSG Systems International, Inc. and/or its affiliates (“CSG”). All rights reserved. CSG® is a registered trademark of CSG Systems International, Inc. All third-party trademarks, service marks, and/or product names which are referenced in this document are the property of their respective owners, and all rights therein are reserved. Contact Details CSG Media Relations Brad Jones +1 303-200-3001 brad.jones@csgi.com CSG Investor Relations John Rea +1 (210) 687 4409 john.rea@csgi.com Company Website https://www.csgi.com

March 01, 2021 06:00 AM Mountain Standard Time

Image

Tech2 Selects Comodo Advanced End Point Protection to Provide Exceptional Cybersecurity Protection Services to Its Customers

Comodo

Tech2 Solutions, based in Italy, chose to implement Comodo Dragon Platform and Advanced Endpoint Protection (AEP) in order to provide exceptional service to its partners and customers. Using Comodo AEP they are now able to handle modern threats with less effort and more confidence, in addition to having a complete view of endpoints and networks across all of their customers with an affordable and efficient solution. Tech2 Evaluated many alternative solutions, before deciding to choose Comodo as their provider. Tech2 made the choice to start providing MSP model service to its customers, small, medium, and enterprise size, so choosing Comodo was the best solution, because of Comodo’s market-leading technology for supporting cybersecurity service partners. “The reason we chose to implement Comodo’s solution is that it is the best-of-breed. In Italy, that means price vs features without losing efficiency.” Said Cristiano Cafferata, Partner. “working with Comodo improved the service we provide for our customers. It’s amazing, we used to need 30 days to be able to handle everything but now it’s a 100% complete solution.” “Using Comodo provides better protection for our customers with more effective control of the full perimeter of the customer, and we spend less into patching equals more time to make other productive stuff” Cristiano continues. Comodo’s zero-trust policy isproviding Tech2 customers better protection by assessing the security of all files and detecting more hazards than any other solution. The Dragon platform with Advanced Endpoint Protection, is a complete cloud-native framework that delivers a zero-trust architecture to protect and defend endpoints. Its patent-pending auto containment technology has active breach protection that neutralizes ransomware, malware, and cyber-attacks. The auto containment runs an unknown executable in a kernel API virtualized mode, thereby offering attack surface reduction (ASR) which neutralizes ransomware attacks. The Dragon Platform also utilizes a Default Deny security posture with Default Allow usability to provide the most comprehensive protection against zero-day threats while having no impact on end-user experience or workflows. About Tech2 Italy Tech 2 is a company formed by technicians with many years of experience in different hardware and software environments, experts in operating systems, networking, and software development. The company mainly uses internal resources for the design, implementation, and assistance of IT solutions and can make use of a network of collaborators with trusted skills and experience. We are Microsoft Certified Partner and Sonicwall Gold Partner, testifying the importance we place on the technical preparation of our collaborators. We can provide our services in total outsourcing or we can integrate with the customer's structure. For more information visit http://www.tech2.it/index.php About Comodo Comodo is the world’s leader of next-generation open source cybersecurity, with the industry’s most disruptive innovations. We help customers stop breaches with groundbreaking auto containment technology that neutralizes ransomware, malware and cyber-attacks. Our complete cloud-native framework delivers a zero-trust architecture with active breach protection for the most comprehensive defense against zero-day threats. Comodo’s cybersecurity products maximize intelligent sharing between every component of the platform, therefore providing superior security. We are the only company that analyzes and gives a trusted verdict for 100% of files on a network. Comodo leverages innovation to celebrate and support the cybersecurity community by offering the very first open source endpoint detection and response (EDR). We believe that an open source model using community-powered collaboration will ensure that every organization has access to the industry’s most sophisticated EDR. Headquartered in Clifton NJ, Comodo’s global development team and threat intelligence laboratories deliver innovative, category leading, security solutions for thousands of companies’ endpoints, network boundaries, and internal networks. For more information visit https://www.comodo.com/ Contact Details Carolyn Muzyka +1 973-859-4000 carolyn.muzyka@comodo.com Company Website http://www.comodo.com

March 01, 2021 08:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Video

Cloud Conventions 2021 – The Premier Telecom/Cloud Channel Virtual Event Returns Live May 12-14

Convey Services

Cloud Conventions 2021 will open its 2nd annual virtual conference and tradeshow on May 12-14 offering a unique experience for channel professionals in the telecom/cloud, hosted voice, connectivity, IT and managed services and mobility industries. Co-sponsored by media partner, TR Publications and managed by the MCI Group, this premier industry event redefines the attendee and exhibitor experience for a virtual event with industry and business content, discussions opportunities, networking and strategy sessions, along with more ways to connect individually with peers and exhibitors. “Channel Strategies to Navigate the ‘New Normal’ is the focus of Cloud Conventions 2021,” said Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Convey Services, founding partner of the event. “We teamed with the MCI Group as our event management partner and TR Publications and their related media to build on the success of our Cloud Conventions 2020 event expanding offerings and audience. Our experience delivering dozens of virtual tradeshows, conferences, summits, and kick-off meetings for our clients has taught us how to design an virtual expo avoiding the pitfalls of events that fail to create an engaging experience for attendees and deliver sales leads to exhibitors and sponsors." "Cloud Conventions 2021 has the potential to bring together one of the largest audiences of channel partners, MSPs, VARs, IT service providers and carriers for an unparalleled virtual event,” said Doug Green, publisher of TR Publications. “Strategies to deliver cloud solutions, connectivity, mobility and managed services are evolving, along with the business models of channel organizations that provide them to business customers. Cloud Conventions 2021 brings together resources, thought leaders, technology and business solutions to ensure that the channel has the tools to thrive in this rapidly changing landscape.” “Managing Cloud Conventions 2021 opens up a vast new market opportunity for the MCI Group,” said James Kelley Director of Business Development, Virtual Events at MCI USA. “Our team has partnered with Convey and their Cloud Conventions virtual event platform to deliver large virtual tradeshows and conferences for the past year. We offer added value to a show like this through marketing and our event management experience and support for exhibitors and sponsors. The MCI Group is committed to growing the Cloud Conventions 2021 event and returning in the spring of 2022 with an even larger live and hybrid industry expo.” In May of last year, the Cloud Conventions 2020 event attracted thousands of attendees over 4 days, with industry sponsors, social engagement and networking, and 78 educational sessions to help channel partners develop pathways to get business back on track and help their customers pivot to a digital work environment in the face of the pandemic. The 2021 virtual event will help channel partners navigate the ‘new normal’ by offering connections to colleagues and providers, powerful educational sessions, along with strategies to stay personally and professionally resilient, agile, and informed. Attendance at Cloud Conventions 2021 is free to qualified industry professionals. Past attendees will receive an invitation to pre-register. New attendees and potential exhibitors can sign up at www.cloudconventions2021.com. The Cloud Conventions 2021 conference and expo is hosted and managed on the industry leading Cloud Conventions virtual event platform, powered by Convey Services. About Telecom Reseller TR Publications reports on UC, UCaaS, CPaaS, mobility, telehealth, SD-WAN, direct routing, collaboration are among the many topics covered. Written for both buyer and seller, IT director and channel leader, TR’s qualified readers include enterprise end users, channel partners, MSPs, CLECs. Content includes news, blogs, podcasts, Educasts, and webinars. TR reaches 25,000 readers daily by eBulletin, 80,000 readers every weekend with their Sunday Report, and 1,900 people daily online. www.telecomreseller.com. About MCI Group MCI is a global engagement and marketing agency. We design human-centric solutions that unleash the power of people to deliver innovation and growth for our clients. Our offering includes live & virtual events, strategic & digital communications, consulting & community solutions. We help brands, companies, associations and not-for-profits solve their challenges, bringing their people together to shape their tomorrow. MCI is an independently owned company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a global presence in 60 offices across 31 countries. www.mci-group.com About Cloud Conventions Cloud Conventions is a Virtual Trade Show and Conference Platform from Convey Services that brings new capabilities to a marketplace looking for solutions to replace the thousands of live trade shows, annual conferences and association meetings cancelled in the wake of COVID-19. Originally launched as ConveyLive, Cloud Conventions automates exhibitors and virtual booths, attendee registration, speaker sessions and reminders, invitations and email communication, while at the same time producing detailed analytics on attendee, session and exhibitor activity. Trade Associations and event managers can explore all of the Cloud Conventions solutions by visiting https://cloudconventions.com or contacting info@cloudconventions.com or call 888-975-1382. Cloud Conventions™, Community™, Cloud Kickoffs™, Conduct™, One-Touch Email Share™, Hub & Spoke™, 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby Experience™ and ListLock™ are trademarks of Convey Services LLC Contact Details Convey Services Bruce Ahern +1 770-580-0810 bahern@conveyservices.com Company Website https://cloudconventions.com

February 26, 2021 02:30 PM Eastern Standard Time

Survey Reveals Permanent Changes in Behavior and Expectations Beyond COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

Metova Inc.

Metova, a leading provider of custom software solutions for mobile, web, connected home and car, and Internet of Things (IoT) for the private and public sector today announced the results of their latest blind survey of over 1000 people in the United States regarding behavior, trends and expectations beyond the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Notably, “curbside pickup” led the way as the “most helpful thing” during COVID-19, outpacing video calling, online video streaming, telemedicine and mobile food and grocery services. In addition, of those who plan on getting the COVID-19 vaccine, 64% will avoid staying in a hotel, casino or resort for the remainder of 2021 if given the option. A notable, positive finding of the survey: “Quality Family Time” leads by nearly 2 to 1 in “positive life events that came out of the pandemic” – outpacing new hobbies, skills, personal fitness and home improvements. For a freely reusable infographic summarizing Metova’s Winter 2021 Post-Vaccine COVID-19 Survey, visit: https://metova.com/infographic-expectations-beyond-covid-19/ “At Metova in our work with telehealth, mobile tech, smart home and connected technologies for the hotel and hospitality industry, it’s essential we understand the quickly evolving sentiment and preferences of our clients' customers,” said Jonathan Sasse, chief strategy officer at Metova. "COVID-19 has accelerated and in many cases truly disrupted consumer preferences and behavior, and it’s essential for industries to understand these changes in order to best serve their customers.” Metova’s Winter 2021 Post-Vaccine COVID-19 Survey: “Curbside Pickup” lead the way as the “most helpful thing” during COVID-19, outpacing video calling, online video streaming, telemedicine and mobile food and grocery services “Quality Family Time” leads the way by nearly 2 to 1 in positive life events that came out of the pandemic, outpacing new hobbies, skills, personal fitness and home improvements 86% of people working from home due to COVID-19 want to continue working from home after getting the vaccine 64% after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, if given the option, will avoid staying in a hotel, casino or resort for the remainder of 2021 1 in 4 say they won’t get the COVID-19 vaccine because they don’t think it is safe Additional Metova technology and culture sentiment surveys include: Telehealth, Contact Tracing and COVID-19, Working From Home Due to COVID-19, Internet of Things, Mobile First, the Connected Car and Smartphones and Healthcare. For a a summary of Metova 2020 survey findings, please visit: https://metova.com/metova-industry-intelligence-survey-findings-of-2020/ ABOUT METOVA Founded in 2006, with a belief that mobile would be even more transformative than the internet, Metova set out to build innovative mobile applications while also creating a great place for people to work. Today, Metova continues to build on its success by retaining world-class talent and helping companies transform their business through technology. After identifying customer needs, informed through industry-trusted surveys and analysis, Metova defines and builds the experiences customers expect, aligned with business goals to streamline workflows and increase revenues – while delighting customers and disrupting industries. Contact Details Metova Anders Steele +1 323-909-2341 anders.steele@metova.com Company Website https://metova.com

February 26, 2021 09:29 AM Eastern Standard Time

Infographic: Permanent Changes in Behavior and Expectations Beyond COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

Metova Inc.

Contact Details Metova Anders Steele +1 323-909-2341 anders.steele@metova.com Company Website https://metova.com/infographic-expectations-beyond-covid-19/

February 26, 2021 09:19 AM Eastern Standard Time

Image

Comodo launches SOCaaP (Security-Operations-Center-as-a-Platform), empowering MSPs/MSSPs/ISPs to ramp up recurring revenue from Cybersecurity managed services with zero up-front cost

Comodo

Comodo, the global leader of next-generation Cybersecurity technology, today announced the release of the world’s first security operations center (SOC)-as-a-Platform ( SOCaaP ), revolutionizing the cybersecurity market for service providers. This one-of-a-kind platform enables any service provider (MSPs, MSSPs, ISPs, Telcos, etc.) to offer Cybersecurity as a billable managed service to their customers and dramatically ramp up their recurring revenue base. The Platform brings unique benefits for service providers and their customers by integrating endpoint, network, and cloud security (correlating events from both the endpoint and network) and offering white-labeled co-managed threat detection and response services. SOCaaP launches with Connectwise integration to automate customer onboarding while ingesting security logs into SOCaaP Integrated cloud-native Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution. SOCaaP can be deployed into leading PSA products with just a few clicks – deployment is simple and instant. Key features of SOCaaP include: Complete integration with Comodo's Cloud-Native Cybersecurity Platform with Patented Auto-Containment™ technology, which stops breaches that cannot even be detected. Built-in cloud connectors that integrate with cloud services such as Office 365, Azure, and Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) to extend visibility over cloud assets and workloads A single pane of glass combining all security service operations, customer onboarding status, actionable alerts, and escalations into a single dashboard A cloud-based, multi-tenant next-generation security information and event monitoring platform (SIEM) for MSPs including a powerful event correlation engine Moreover, SOCaap comes with an industry-first "Pay per use" or “pay in arrears” model, which means that service providers face zero upfront cost and only pay for what use. Melih Abdulhayoglu, Comodo’s CEO, says "We want every service provider to experience how this can help them ramp up their revenues by exceeding the cybersecurity needs of their customers and do it with absolutely no up-front cost or investment.” SOCaap requires no commitments, just a simple month-by-month subscription that includes the option to switch it off at any time. MSPs can white-label this solution to match their own brand to exponentially increase their value proposition for customers and their profitability.” Learn more about SOCapp: https://comodo.com/socaap About Comodo Comodo is the world’s leader of next-generation open source cybersecurity, with the industry’s most disruptive innovations. We help customers stop breaches with groundbreaking auto containment technology that neutralizes ransomware, malware and cyber-attacks. Our complete cloud-native framework delivers a zero-trust architecture with active breach protection for the most comprehensive defense against zero-day threats. Comodo’s cybersecurity products maximize intelligent sharing between every component of the platform, therefore providing superior security. We are the only company that analyzes and gives a trusted verdict for 100% of files on a network. Comodo leverages innovation to celebrate and support the cybersecurity community by offering the very first open source endpoint detection and response (EDR). We believe that an open source model using community-powered collaboration will ensure that every organization has access to the industry’s most sophisticated EDR. Headquartered in Clifton NJ, Comodo’s global development team and threat intelligence laboratories deliver innovative, category leading, security solutions for thousands of companies’ endpoints, network boundaries, and internal networks. For more information visit https://www.comodo.com/ Contact Details Kobi Meir +1 888-551-1531 kobi.benmeir@comodo.com Company Website http://www.comodo.com

February 26, 2021 08:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Video

COMCAST PARTNERS WITH OLYMPIAN SIMONE MANUEL TO ANNOUNCE FREE WIFI FOR STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES AT 20 OAKLAND COMMUNITY CENTERS

Comcast West Division

As part of its ongoing commitment to help connect low-income students and families to the Internet so they can fully participate in educational opportunities and the digital economy, Comcast today announced plans to equip 20 Oakland community centers and parks and recreation facilities with free WiFi for the next three years. As part of its Lift Zones initiative, the company will provide robust WiFi coverage in these safe spaces, to help ensure thousands of low-income students can remain online during the school year and continue to participate in distance learning. The announcement was made today during a special event with 2x Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer Simone Manuel, who spoke virtually with Oakland students about perseverance and the importance of following their dreams. “The current health crisis has had a disproportionate effect on many students from communities of color, and I want these kids to know that there are people rooting for them,” said Simone Manuel, the first African American female swimmer to win gold in an individual swimming event at the 2016 Rio Games. “ The lack of Internet access in low-income homes adds unique challenges to families that are trying to manage distance learning. I’m pleased to partner with Comcast to bring awareness to this important issue and help close the digital divide.” In addition to providing free WiFi at the various Lift Zone locations, Comcast contributed $100,000 to the City of Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation and gave 1,000 students their own free laptop computer and free Internet at home for 12 months (to eligible families) through its Internet Essentials program. “We’re thrilled to partner with the City of Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation to install free WiFi and provide digital skills training to ensure students can stay connected with their schools during this challenging time,” said John Gauder, regional senior vice president, Comcast California. “The COVID-19 crisis continues to put many low-income students at risk of being left behind, accelerating the need for comprehensive digital equity and Internet adoption programs to support them. Whether connecting to the Internet at home with our Internet Essentials program, or providing free WiFi at community centers, we’re helping to ensure students have multiple options to get online.” “The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on many inequities in our society including the digital divide. Parents who are essential workers or those who can’t work from home have been questioning how to handle distance learning for their children,” said Oakland’s Mayor Libby Schaaf. “That's why we are grateful that Comcast has partnered with the City of Oakland to provide these crucial technology resources and stepped in to fill an important need in the community.” Last September, Comcast announced a multi-year program to launch more than 1,000 WiFi-connected "Lift Zones" in community centers nationwide, working with its network of thousands of nonprofit partners and city leaders. Lift Zone sites complement Comcast’s Internet Essentials program, which has helped connect more than eight million low-income people to the Internet at home. This includes more than one million residents across the state of California, which is the number one state in terms of overall participation in the Internet Essentials program. Since the Internet Essentials program’s launch in 2011, Comcast has donated tens of thousands of free laptops to students and families across the country, and invested $700 million in digital literacy, skills training and awareness programs that have reached 11 million people. Comcast recently announced that it was doubling the program’s Internet download speed to 50 Mbps and increasing the upstream speed to 5 Mbps for all new and existing customers at no additional cost. The company continues to offer 60 days of free service to any new Internet Essentials customer who signs up before June 30, 2021. About Comcast Corporation Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with three primary businesses: Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Sky. Comcast Cable is one of the United States’ largest video, high-speed internet, and phone providers to residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the Xfinity brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts. Sky is one of Europe's leading media and entertainment companies, connecting customers to a broad range of video content through its pay television services. It also provides communications services, including residential high-speed internet, phone, and wireless services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast network and sports and entertainment networks, produces original content, and has exclusive content rights. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information. Contact Details Adriana Arvizo +1 925-200-1919 Adriana_Arvizo@comcast.com

February 25, 2021 04:34 PM Pacific Standard Time

Image

1 ... 537 538 539 540 541 ... 577