Comcast Business says it now offers business services via DOCSIS 3.1 technology in the U.S. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The company says additional markets for business services delivered through DOCSIS 3.1 are on tap through the fall.
The new DOCSIS 3.1-enabled markets include Greater Boston, Greater Philadelphia, New Jersey, northern Delaware, Baltimore, MD; Charlottesville, VA; and Washington, DC. The new markets join existing DOCSIS 3.1-based service areas in Atlanta, Nashville, Chicago, Detroit, Chattanooga, Huntsville, and Miami (see "Comcast uses DOCSIS 3.1 for gigabit business services"). Comcast will use DOCSIS 3.1 to offer its "Business Internet 1 Gig" and "Business Internet 500" speed tiers.
DOCSIS 3.1 is the latest iteration of the cable industry's DOCSIS operating system for hybrid fiber/coax networks (see "CableLabs releases DOCSIS 3.1 chip specifications"). It offers 10 Gbps downstream and approximately 1 Gbps upstream. An effort to create symmetrical 10-Gbps capabilities, dubbed Full Duplex, is underway under the auspices of CableLabs.
"Comcast is building the nation's largest gig-speed network. We have been at the forefront of DOCSIS 3.1 deployment and today's roll out further demonstrates our commitment to bringing this transformational technology to all businesses in our footprint," said Kevin O'Toole, senior vice president of product management at Comcast Business. "Our gig-speed network allows businesses to quickly and easily scale network capacity at their locations to suit their individual needs and to support new technology applications on-site or in the cloud."
Comcast Business says it plans to launch Business Internet 1 Gig and Business Internet 500 in the majority of its service areas throughout 2017 and into 2018. Pricing for the services varies based on a business's location or number of locations to be served and the services to which the business currently subscribes.
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