Atlantic Broadband says it will utilize the DOCSIS 3.1 standard to deploy gigabit-speed Internet service across its newly acquired Eastern Connecticut footprint by 2016.
The announcement comes as Atlantic Broadband absorbs the 70,000 residential and business customers in Eastern Connecticut it acquired over the summer with its $200 million purchase of MetroCast.
Atlantic Broadband said it has already begun offering Connecticut customers enhanced service bundles that include Internet downstream speeds of up to 120 Mbps. Former MetroCast customers will receive automatic speed bumps in the coming months.
"We understand the economic benefits of ultra-fast Internet service in today's digital age and our broadband network is uniquely suited to enable customers on a wide scale," said David Isenberg, Atlantic Broadband's president and chief revenue officer. "That's why we're investing millions of dollars in the latest technology to launch gigabit Internet service as soon as we possibly can."
A subsidiary of Cogeco Cable Inc. and based in Quincy, Mass., Atlantic Broadband acquired homes and business spanning nine communities in Eastern Connecticut, including New London, Waterford, East Lyme, Montville, Plainfield, Killingly, Sterling, Griswold and Putnam. The system serves about 23,000 TV customers, as well as 22,000 Internet and 8,000 phone subscribers.
Atlantic Broadband is now the 12th biggest cable operator in the U.S. It was one of the first operators to deploy 1-gig broadband services, launching 1 Gbps symmetrical service in Miami, Fla., last year.
News of Atlantic Broadband's 1-gig expansion comes as other small and mid-sized operators also announce 1 Gbps plans. Earlier this week, for example, Cable One disclosed that it will begin deploying 1-gig services starting in January. Suddenlink Communications, meanwhile, extended its 1-gig reach to Abilene, Texas, this week.
For more:
- read this Atlantic Broadband press release
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Atlantic Broadband becomes nation's 12th largest cable operator with $200M purchase of MetroCast