Comcast has announced that its gigabit Internet service will be widely available to its customers after the company upgrades its network to DOCSIS 3.1, a faster version of the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification that it uses.
According to Comcast, the goal is to have this completed within the next two or three years and no later than the end of 2018. Initially, it will offer maximum speeds of 1 Gbps, however, DOCSIS 3.1 can offer speeds of up to 10 Gbps if conditions are ideal.
"We're testing it this year. Our intent is to scale it through our footprint through 2016," said Comcast VP of network architecture Robert Howald in an interview with FierceCable. "We want to get it across the footprint very quickly. We're shooting for two years."
The fact that the service will top out at 1 Gbps is as an incentive to customers who might want to switch to Google Fiber. If the Internet service provider already offers Google Fiber speeds, then they won't feel as drawn to switching.
Even if the company eventually falls short of the 10 Gbps that the service could offer, with the right modem, a user could get Internet speeds of multiple gigabits. Of course, just because Comcast can offer very high speed Internet, that certainly doesn't mean that it will be affordable. In fact, knowing the company, it won't be. For example, Comcast recently began offering its Gigabit Pro service, which includes speeds of up to 2 Gbps for a whopping $300 per month. That's not even counting the activation fees, which can run up to $1,000.
It will certainly be interesting to see what kind of an impact this service could have on the wireless industry. While companies like Comcast are making promises about their data speeds in the future, with governments stepping in to limit the monopoly that some companies have, there could be delays in data speeds.
Via: FierceCable
