Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) now has less than six months to fulfill a pledge made in April to roll out 2 Gbps broadband services to 18 million customers by the end of 2015.
In April, the MSO announced symmetrical 2 Gbps service over fiber would "soon" roll out to Atlanta and be available across the country to about 18 million homes by the end of the year.
But as DSLReports notes, the service--intended to one-up 1 Gbps products offered by Google Fiber (NASDAQ: GOOG), AT&T (NYSE: T) and others--has yet to even launch in Atlanta.
A Comcast rep had no explanation for the apparent delay, but said announcement is expected next week.
Comcast, meanwhile, has disputed reports that the new service will cost around $300 a month. However, some Atlanta residents are being told by the cable company that the monthly price is in fact around $300, according to users in DSLReports' forum. They say they're also being quoted $500 for installation and another $500 for activation of the service.
"Our approach is to offer the most comprehensive rollout of multi-gigabit service to the most homes as quickly as possible, not just to certain neighborhoods," said Doug Guthrie, SVP of Comcast Cable's South Region, announcing the 2 Gbps service in April. "We already provide the fastest speeds to the most homes and businesses in Atlanta, and access to Gigabit Pro will give our customers all the broadband capacity they need to stay ahead of future technologies and innovations."
For more:
- read this DSLReports story
- read this Comcast corporate blog post from April
Related links:
Comcast set to deploy 2 Gbps service in 6 more markets
Comcast, Cox Gbps expansions further disrupt the broadband status quo
Comcast to challenge Google Fiber, AT&T's 1 Gbps broadband play with 2 Gbps plan