Cox offers details on 1 Gbps rollout--will start out in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Omaha

After revealing plans last month to kick off super-fast 1 Gbps Internet services, Cox Communications on Thursday revealed its roadmap for getting them launched.

The Atlanta-based pay-TV and ISP provider announced that it will immediately begin building these services into select areas of Phoenix, Las Vegas and Omaha, Neb., with nationwide rollout scheduled to be completed by 2016.

"We are excited about our road map to offer gigabit speeds to all our residential customers," said Cox Communications president Pat Esser. "Starting today, we will begin deploying new technology and infrastructure that will give customers the choice of gigabit speeds in all markets we serve."

The rollout isn't exactly a secret: Esser told Bloomberg that Cox was planning to offer a 1-gig plan during April's NCTA Cable Show.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and AT&T (NYSE: T) have already began infiltrating select markets with 1 Gbps fiber-based networks. Google Fiber, for example, has already hit Kansas City and Provo, Utah, with plans to roll out in Austin, Texas with this year. Phoenix, meanwhile, is one of the 31 additional metropolitan markets Google is targeting. Cox is the largest pay-TV operator in that market, with 578,000 subscribers there, according to Bloomberg.

For more:
- see this CNET story
- see this press release

Related links:
Cox takes on AT&T and Google Fiber in 1 Gbps fiber race
Google Fiber to conduct small business pilot in Kansas City
Time Warner Cable bumps speeds for 100K Austin subs; service now tops out at 300 Mbps