LAPLACE – To help residents and emergency personnel stay connected during Tropical Storm Barry, Comcast has opened more than 1,700 Xfinity WiFi hotspots throughout impacted areas to anyone who needs them, including non-Xfinity customers, for free.

For a map of the Xfinity WiFi hotspots, which are located indoors, residents can visit www.Xfinity.com/wifi. Once in range of a hotspot, they may select the “xfinitywifi” network name in the list of available hotspots and then launch a browser. Xfinity Internet customers can sign in with their usernames and passwords, and they will be automatically connected to Xfinity WiFi hotspots in the future.

Non-Xfinity internet subscribers should visit the “Not an Xfinity Internet Customer” section on the sign-in page to get started. Non-customers will be able to renew their complimentary sessions every two hours.

Doug Guthrie, Regional Senior Vice President for Comcast in Atlanta, said it’s critical for impacted residents to have a means of communication during and after the potential impacts of Tropical Storm Barry.

“By activating our WiFi network today, we can help more people stay connected during this time,” Guthrie said.

Comcast representatives said customers should remember that emergency management procedures dictate that power must be restored first and Comcast must receive clearance that it is safe for its crews to begin any restoration work.

If Comcast services are down in an area because of a power outage, local power must be restored before video, phone and internet services can begin working again.

According to the company, the most effective way to get outage updates and information about Comcast services is to visit www.Xfinity.com/MyAccount or to access the Xfinity My Account app from any secure, internet-enabled mobile device.

If customers have electrical power but Xfinity service has not yet come back on, Comcast recommends that customers restart or reset devices, including wireless gateways, modems, routers and cable boxes.

Customers should unplug their equipment or use a surge protector to plug in TVs, modems and cable boxes so that when power is restored, those devices aren’t damaged by power surges.

Customers can chat online with an agent or visit www.customer.xfinity.com/help-and-support. Using social media, customers can connect with Comcast on Twitter at @ComcastCares, or visit @ComcastSouth for regular storm updates.