The Arc Baltimore Advances Its Mission of Advocacy With Comcast Business

BALTIMORE, May 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast Business today announced that The Arc Baltimore is using Ethernet and Internet services to advance its mission of providing employment, educational and residential services to thousands of adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the Baltimore metropolitan area. This innovative infrastructure improves inter-office collaboration for one of the nation's largest and most respected nonprofits of its kind by enabling more than 800 employees across six locations to share internal files, process membership applications, access financial software and file paperwork. It also allows the individuals supported by the organization to use the Internet for job hunting, educational and entertainment purposes both within their community living homes and at the nonprofit's day centers.

"Our goal is to empower developmentally disabled people to reach their fullest potential, and technology plays an incredibly important role as our employees need reliable access to the internal databases and applications that help us best serve our individuals," said Christian Ehrhardt, director of information technology for The Arc Baltimore. "Our Comcast Business Ethernet and Internet services are a tremendous upgrade from what we had before in every way possible, and will help us in assisting even more of the community."

With dozens of employees accessing the organization's network at any given time, The Arc Baltimore needed a scalable and reliable infrastructure to meet its growing demands. The Ethernet Network Service from Comcast Business, with up to 80 Megabits-per-second (Mbps) of capacity, helps to expedite the transfer of internal information between the nonprofit's headquarters and five major facilities, as well as supports its four-digit dialing system to improve employee communication. An additional 100 Mbps Ethernet Dedicated Internet line allows employees to access financial software and The Arc Baltimore's home-grown records management database.

Residents at many of The Arc Baltimore's more than 100 housing sites and participants at its five day centers now utilize Comcast Business Internet services to get online, enabling them to independently research employment, pursue interests and connect with family and friends.

"Organizations like The Arc Baltimore provide essential services to the intellectually and developmentally disabled community, which is why it's so important to us to be providing a network infrastructure that can support their demands," said Byron Cantrall, regional vice president for Comcast Business. "We're proud to couple this with a dedicated local team to deliver the technical services our customers need and the personalized attention they deserve."

About The Arc Baltimore:
Dedicated to providing advocacy and high quality, life-changing supports since 1949 in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, The Arc Baltimore supports more than 6,000 adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. As one of the nation's largest and most respected organizations of its kind, The Arc Baltimore is an indispensable resource, providing employment training and support, day and residential services, family support and education, treatment foster care, respite care, public policy advocacy and information, and referrals. For more information, visit www.thearcbaltimore.org or call 410-296-2272.

About Comcast Corporation:
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone providers to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses. NBCUniversal 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. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

About Comcast Cable:
Comcast Cable is one of the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone provider to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses. Comcast has invested in technology to build an advanced network that delivers among the fastest broadband speeds, and brings customers personalized video, communications and home management offerings. Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and technology company. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

SOURCE Comcast Cable

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