Looks like Comcast is likely to bring the first 100 Mbps broadband to the masses, ensuring better performance for online video and live streaming video. The Philadelphia-base company said it has deployed next-gen cable technology to three-quarters of its customers in the U.S., more than 38 million customers, and already offers 50 Mbps service to them. The company, the nation's largest cable operator, says it'll be turning the speed up a significant notch-doubling it, actually-in the next 12 to 18 months.
"We're looking to introduce a residential service at 100-Meg speeds," said Cathy Avgiris, SVP and GM of communications and data services. "For a customer who wants to take advantage of that, we'll offer that to them."
Comcast, which has 15.9 million high-speed broadband subscribers, also is the largest Internet supplier in the U.S. Smaller systems, Cablevision and Mediacom Communications already are operating 100 Mbps services on a significantly smaller scale.
Avgris declined to discuss price, but the likelihood is that any new 100-Meg service Comcast offer will come in significantly below the 100 Mbps downstream and 15 Mbps upstream service it currently offers businesses in Minneapolis/St. Paul, where it's priced at $369.95 per month.
For more:
- see this MultichannelNews article
Related articles:
Cisco rolls out next-gen router to speed online video