Internet and cable TV provider Comcast is moving into “underserved areas” of Carbon and Schuylkill counties, company representatives say.

Jennifer Frees, senior manager for government and external affairs for Comcast Cable, went before the Schuylkill Township board of supervisors last week to ask permission to grant the company a franchise agreement to provide its services in the township.

Frees said she intended to approach other municipalities in the same fashion - including the Hazleton area municipalities of Hazle Township, the only municipality in Luzerne County Comcast has its eyes on, as well as McAdoo, and Kline and Banks townships.

Frees said the company is targeting 11 municipalities in each of Carbon and Schuylkill counties.

Josephine Posti, director of public relations for Comcast-Keystone Region, said the cable provider has forged franchise agreements with the boroughs of Port Carbon and Palo Alto, and the townships of Cass, East Norwegian, New Castle and Reilly, all in Schuylkill County. Frees also mentioned East Union, Blythe and Branch townships, and St. Clair Borough in Schuylkill County.

Frees and Posti failed to say whether any municipalities in Carbon County had been approached, or had agreed to franchise agreements, which Frees said are “non-exclusive” and last from 18-24 months.

Joe Lorah, director of government and public affairs for Blue Ridge Cable, said the company does not currently provide service to those areas.

He explained, “An underserved area is an area where there isn’t internet access with a speed of at least 25 Mbps download and upload of 3 Mbps. An unserved area is an area where there isn’t any internet service available.”

Blue Ridge serves a small section of Schuylkill County, parts of West Penn Township, Coaldale East Brunswick, Walker, Rush, and Tamaqua.

In Carbon, the company services most of the county with the exception of the Weatherly and Lake Harmony areas.

“We’ve worked hard to continue increasing our internet speeds to meet our customer’s needs. On April 7 we launched our fastest internet speed up to 2 Gig service to all customers. In addition, our fiber-to-the-home network build continues, and as we complete areas we are launching symmetrical internet speeds to customers,” Lorah said.

“Blue Ridge has been home to Carbon County residents since the 1950s,” Lorah said. “We continue to provide residents with the fastest internet speeds available. We continually evaluate new areas where we can extend our service to serve residents and hope to do so soon where possible.”

If the Schuylkill supervisors agree to the franchise, Frees said service could be established by this fall.

Posri said Comcast will offer residents and businesses its full suite of services, including Xfinity broadband speeds of up to 1.2 gigabytes per second, and Comcast business services of speeds of up to 100 GBPS.