Comcast Rolls Out Wideband in Chicago December 23, 2008

December 23, 2008

By Jennifer Hull

Comcast announced it will provide a new level of Internet speed tiers to residents in the Chicago area with the launch of its next-generation DOCSIS 3.0 wideband service. The new service will be available to homes throughout Chicago’s northern and northwestern suburbs, including northern Cook County, Lake County, McHenry County, and the northern edge of Kane County. The faster speeds will be available in the city of Chicago, its western and southern Chicago suburbs, and northwestern Indiana in the first half of 2009. Comcast will also introduce new faster tiers and increased speeds for most of its Chicagoland business customers in the coming months.

Comcast Next-Generation Wideband Speeds up to 50 Mbps

With wideband, Comcast will offer download speeds of up to 50 Mbps. Wideband will also enable Comcast to double speeds for the majority of existing high-speed Internet customers at no additional cost.

Comcast will launch two new premium speed tiers that are ideal for households simultaneously using several computers or Internet-connected devices. New residential tiers include: Extreme 50, offering up to 50 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 10 Mbps of upstream speed; and Ultra, offering up to 22 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 5 Mbps of upstream speed.

With Extreme 50, Comcast customers will be able to download a high-definition movie (6 GB) in about 16 minutes, a standard-definition movie (2 GB) in about five minutes, and a standard-definition TV show (300 MB) in a matter of seconds. Customers with Extreme 50 also will be able to download digital photos, songs, and games faster than ever.

Existing Comcast Internet Customers Receive Faster Speeds

Comcast also is increasing speeds for most of its existing customers. The Performance tier downstream and upstream speeds will be doubled for most customers, offering up to 12 Mbps and 2 Mbps, respectively. Most Performance Plus customers will be upgraded to Comcast’s Blast! tier, which will double download speeds to up to 16 Mbps and provide up to 2 Mbps of upload speed. Most Blast! customers will be upgraded to the new Ultra tier, which will increase downstream speeds from 16 to up to 22 Mbps and increase their upstream speeds from 2 Mbps to up to 5 Mbps. Plus, with PowerBoost technology, customers will have even faster speeds to download and upload files such as videos, games, music, and photos.