On the heels of recent field trials, Comcast announced the first batch of markets where it will launch residential and business-class gigabit broadband services using DOCSIS 3.1 technology – Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Miami and Nashville.
Advertisement
Gigabit Internet, though relatively scarce, is far from new-companies like Google and AT&T have been expanding their fiber optic networks to offer business and residential customers 1Gbps downloads and uploads. The service is now available to 18 million Comcast customers.
Following on from those cities in the latter half of 2016 are Detroit, Chicago, and Miami, though Comcast isn’t being any more specific about expected launch dates just yet.
Comcast will be launching its Gigabit Internet service in five cities this year.
Detroit, Chicago and Miami will follow later this year.
Earlier this week, Chinese hardware giant Huawei announced that it had teamed up with Tele Danmark Communications to upgrade Denmark’s fixed broadband network to deliver download speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second by the end of 2017. In other areas, Comcast has charged subscribers $10 for every 50 gigabytes of Internet data consumption over 300 gigabytes a month, or, as some say, $10 for a 50-gig bucket.
“We don’t have product details to share today in terms of price or data plans”, said a spokesman for Comcast.
Comcast has not yet confirmed how much it’s going to charge for the service and it hasn’t even confirmed whether its data cap will be placed on the gigabit service as well.
Comcast also didn’t say anything about the cost of modems, but a quick Web search shows DOCSIS 3.0 modems that range from about $70 to $150.
Advertisement
“There is a lot of excitement around DOCSIS 3.1 technology, and the new capabilities it brings to cable networks for both cable operators and their customers”, CableLabs said in a statement on its Web site. The company said that it tested the technology last month in its home market of Philadelphia.
