Comcast hopes to offer gigabit Internet nationwide within two years

[Shawn Knight]

Comcast may not be the most desirable of Internet service providers but it could very well be the first to offer gigabit connectivity nationwide.

The ISP said back in April that it is planning to upgrade its entire network to the DOCSIS 3.1 standard (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) and that some customers would have the option by early 2016.

Robert Howland, Comcast’s vice president of network architecture, recently told FierceCable that their intent is to scale it through their footprint over the course of next year. The idea is to upgrade the entire network in a rapid manner so that within two years, regions that Comcast currently serves would have access to gigabit speeds.

Ars Technica notes that the nation’s largest Internet provider operates in 39 states and Washington, DC, with a subscriber base of 22.5 million.

Howland conceded that the upgrade might take up to three years but either way, it’s encouraging to see ISPs interested in offering faster connectivity speeds to customers.

As was the case with the upgrade to DOCSIS 3.0, end-users will need a new modem to take advantage of the faster speeds. It’s also worth mentioning that unlike a symmetrical fiber connection, upload speeds will be slower than download speeds.

What's more, the DOCSIS 3.1 standard isn’t limited to just 1Gbps download speeds. As Howland explained, the standard can support downstream speeds of up to 10Gbps and uploads of up to 1Gbps.

Earlier this summer, Comcast announced GigabitPro, a symmetrical 2Gbps fiber-based connection for residential customers. The service is offered in select regions but as you may have guessed, it isn’t cheap. Pricing is set at $299.95 per month in addition to an installation fee of $500 and an activation fee of $500. Subscribers must also sign a two-year service agreement and may have to wait up to eight weeks or more for installation to be complete.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/61870-comcast-hopes-offer-gigabit-internet-nationwide-within-two.html

 

[Nima304]

I can't wait to see Verizon's response.

 

[madboyv1]

Two years too late. I for one am prepared to embrace the Google overlords if they were to bring Google Fiber to my city.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

"Comcast hopes to offer gigabit Internet nationwide within two years".
"Hopes" being the operative word here.

 

[RustyTech]

22.5m x $60 = 1,350,000,000 BILLION dollars a month.

I understand a company has overhead, but with that kind of intake are you telling me they can't do a better job at everything they do?
...and that's why everyone hates all cable companies.

 

[GeforcerFX]

22.5m x $60 = 1,350,000,000 BILLION dollars a month.

I understand a company has overhead, but with that kind of intake are you telling me they can't do a better job at everything they do?
...and that's why everyone hates all cable companies.

I had a guy from Charter explain a lot of there overhead to me, apparently the power consumption is a huge one even at there super cheap rates. Then labor for technicians and onsite, all the fleet vehicles, it's pretty insane how detailed he went, at least from my perspective, I knew they charge enough to do better a bit better over all. At any rate we should be angrier at the other ISPs for not challenging the cable companies dominance and forcing them to compete better.

 

[RustyTech]

At any rate we should be angrier at the other ISPs for not challenging the cable companies dominance and forcing them to compete better.

I can get down with that; however, I think there is a legal monopoly that's in place. From what I understand, the way it works is that every cable company has their own territory and no other cable company can enter. So the question is, how do we get around this monopoly? Or perhaps just get rid of it?
One major thing to consider is that this business model was put in-place because of the investment of placing the cable lines - the cable companies wanted to be assured a return-on-investment.