Comcast

Comcast Corp., the cable-television company based in Bala Cynwyd, will double its customer base by adding about 500,000 subscribers with its takeover of part of Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s cable subsidiary, Comcast said yesterday. The added systems are in Alabama, California, Connecticut and Florida, Comcast said. A group of cable companies, including Tele-Communications Inc. and Time Inc.'s American Television & Communications subsidiary, is paying about $2 billion for the Westinghouse properties.

Comcast Corp., the rapidly growing cable-television company in Bala Cynwyd, yesterday announced that it was buying a suburban Indianapolis cable system with 82,000 subscribers. Comcast would not reveal how much it will pay Mid-America Capital Resources Inc. for the cable-television system operated by Indianapolis Cablevision Inc. But based on current industry prices, the system probably will sell for $100 million or more. In less than a year, Comcast has grown from a company owning or managing cable systems serving 575,000 subscribers to one serving about 1.1 million.

With Internet usage spiking, Comcast Corp. will eliminate its monthly 250-gigabyte cap for Xfinity Internet subscribers but charge additional $10 fees for users who exceed 300 gigabytes. The 300-gigabyte limit could be used to videoconference on Skype for 225 hours, or watch more than 100 hours of Netflix movies. Final details of the new plan were not available on Thursday because they have not been developed, company officials said in a conference call. The nation's largest broadband company with 18 million Internet subscribers will experiment with two new usage-consumption models in markets around the country before determining the best option for it and consumers.

Comcast Corp., the Philadelphia cable television company, will open a new corporate headquarters in Center City in one of the largest downtown real estate transactions this year. The company said yesterday it would house 250 employees on four floors in the east tower of Centre Square, the 41-story office complex at 15th and Market Streets known for the giant clothespin outside. Comcast was based in the former One Meridian Plaza for nine months before that building was destroyed by fire in February 1991.

Comcast Corp. yesterday announced an agreement with Vonage Holdings Corp., the big Internet phone-service provider, to develop ways to manage Internet traffic without damaging each other's businesses. There will be no change in the billing rates for customers of either company, but Vonage officials say they believe that this will ensure high-quality Internet phone service for their customers. Comcast, one of the nation's largest Internet service providers, operates a competing Internet phone service.

Comcast Corp., which is facing an enforcement action by the Federal Communication Commission over how it treats Internet traffic, will experiment with a new method of managing that traffic to thousands of customers in Chambersburg, Pa., and Warrenton, Va. The "overwhelming majority" of customers in the two towns will see no difference in their Internet experience during the test, said company spokesman Charles Douglas. The tests will begin tomorrow and run for 30 days. Comcast, with 14 million residential high-speed Internet customers, expects to test the new method in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Finally, the Big Ten Network and Comcast Corp. reached a deal. The BTN and the Philadelphia-based cable carrier announced a multiyear agreement yesterday that provides programming on expanded basic on Aug. 15 in states with Big Ten schools: Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio. Comcast doesn't have any subscribers in Iowa, the eighth Big Ten state. Outside these states, Comcast has the option to move the channel on its Sports Entertainment Package and other tiers.

Comcast Corp., the Philadelphia-based cable-television and cellular-phone operator, said it had cash flow of $309.3 million last year, an increase of 14 percent from 1990. Cash flow is the company's income before the subtraction of non-cash charges, interest and income taxes. Depreciation and interest expenses are usually sizable items for cable companies. Comcast did not provide a breakout for the year's fourth quarter. COMCAST CORP. (CMCSA) OTC 12 QTR. '91 12 QTR. '90 PCT. END 12/31 END 12/31 CHG. Revenue (millions)

Comcast Corp. said yesterday that it would add 650 jobs in the Philadelphia area as the company tried to meet demand for its high-speed Internet and voice services. About 95 percent of the positions will be what Comcast calls "customer-facing employees," meaning phone representatives and technicians who go to customer homes. With the new jobs, Comcast will employ more than 5,450 in the Philadelphia and South Jersey areas. Nationally, Comcast has roughly 80,000 employees and is adding 3,000.

Comcast Corp. has boosted its top residential broadband speeds to 105 megabits per second, more than double the previous-fastest speed of 50 megabits per second. The service is available in the Philadelphia area for an introductory rate of $105 a month for a year when bundled into the triple of cable-TV, Internet and phone services. The regular listed rate for the 105-speed service is $199.95 a month.    - Bob Fernandez