Earlier this month, Comcast shared the news of a game-changing network rebuild in Sanibel Island. The tech leader completed a $72 million investment to restore connectivity and fortify the Xfinity network in Southwest Florida after Hurricane Ian’s impact. Today, we want to spotlight some of the people who helped make this important project happen. Meet Construction Specialists Jason McCoy and Xavier Medina, Network Maintenance Supervisor Aaron Reid, Technician Felipe Remigio, and Construction Manager Chris Plank. Jason, Xavier, Aaron, Felipe and Chris were all instrumental in rebuilding 70 miles of new lines across Sanibel, including the strategic installation of a 10-mile underground fiber line from the mainland in Lee County to the island community.
Chris Plank described the different challenges that he and his teams faced when they started to rebuild Xfinity’s network just 48 hours after Ian’s passing through Sanibel.
“We replaced the fiber over the Sanibel Causeway because Hurricane Ian washed out the bridge in three different areas, damaging our network. For 30 days, the only access was by boat or barge,” said Plank. “Now that the project is completed, almost all the Comcast infrastructure on the island has been replaced and the island has redundancy, which is incredible news for residents and businesses.”
Construction Specialist and 14-year Comcast employee, Jason McCoy expands on the technical work of the network on the island.
“This project provides a crucial link for redundancy to Sanibel and Captiva islands,” said McCoy. “We successfully rerouted the transport fiber from the south side of McGregor Boulevard to the north side by establishing a new pole line as part of the power company’s hardening project.”
Aaron Reid started his career at Comcast in 2013 and was part of Sanibel’s rebuild from day one. He emphasized how dedication and partnership between the different teams was vital to overcoming one of their biggest challenges, working with buildings that were actively undergoing restoration.
“Comcasters in plant maintenance, construction, engineering, and our business partners worked day and night to give Sanibel Island’s residents world-class Xfinity service,” said Reid. “I am proud to have been part of this amazing effort.”
What is the benefit of having redundancy? There are now separate fiber paths connecting Sanibel Island. In other words, if one of them is down, Comcast Business and Xfinity services will most likely not be impacted because the other fiber path will take over and provide connectivity.
The Xfinity network could still be impacted by other factors on Sanibel Island. However, the redundancy makes the network stronger and better positioned to provide connectivity for customers.
Another dedicated Construction Specialist on the ground during Sanibel’s restoration was Xavier Medina. He shared his experience and how rewarding it has been to see the collective results of everyone’s hard work.
“From start to finish, the restoration of the Xfinity network in Sanibel was challenging and required rebuilding our facilities from scratch,” said Medina. “I love to see how we work together and always find the right way to take care of our customers.”
