Comcast has launched a 1-Gbps service trial in Chicago using DOCSIS 3.1 technology. The trial is part of the cable MSO's strategy to roll out DOCSIS 3.1 across its footprint to deliver gigabit broadband without replacing existing hybrid fiber/coax connections with fiber to the home (FTTH).
"We're delivering gigabit speeds over the network that already passes millions of homes in the Chicago area," says John Crowley, senior vice president of Comcast's greater Chicago region. "We're proud that Comcast's Chicago area customers will be among the first in the world to have access to this new Gigabit technology."
The deployment is another step in the DOCSIS 3.1 deployment plans Comcast announced this past February. The cable MSO said it would offer the service in Atlanta and Nashville in the first half of this year, with Chicago, Detroit, and Miami following in the second half.
Comcast successfully installed its first DOCSIS 3.1 modem in Philadelphia in December 2015 (see "Comcast starts DOCSIS 3.1 field trials"); the company says it conducted further tests in several Chicago area locations prior to the newly announced service launch in the Chicago market.
According to Comcast, the new service costs $139.95 plus taxes and fees and requires no contract.
Comcast executives indicate the technology also could be used to deliver its 2-Gbps Gigabit Pro service (see "Comcast one ups Google Fiber, AT&T with 2-Gbps broadband in Atlanta").
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