Business customers can now access DOCSIS 3.1-based internet services from Comcast Business in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, and Nashville, the operator announced on Tuesday. Comcast dubs its offerings “Business Internet 1 Gig” and “Business Internet 500,” and the speed tiers are now available utilizing the company’s existing network. That means none of that annoying construction of new network facilities.
Comcast Business already offers multi-gigabit options like Comcast Business Ethernet, which the company launched and has been expanding nationally since 2011. Those services can support speeds of 100 gigabits per second over fiber, according to the company.
“With more business operations moving to a cloud-based model, staying ahead of the bandwidth curve will be an important part of an organization’s migration strategy,” Matt Davis, program director for IDC, observes. “DOCSIS 3.1-based internet will give small, medium, and even larger organizations the opportunity to quickly add more network capacity at their locations, supporting new technology applications on-site or in the cloud.”
Businesses interested in the new speeds just need to order a new modem from Comcast.
“High-capacity, high-performance internet can be a difference-maker for businesses that want to leverage software-as-a-service applications to improve their operations or enhance the customer experience by offering in-store WiFi or a robust e-commerce site,” Kevin O’Toole, SVP of product management at Comcast Business, says. “DOCSIS 3.1 business internet service offers a new and easy plug-and-play option for accessing gigabit speeds in any business environment – whether that is a large distributed enterprise across a wide geographic area or a small business with one or a few locations.”
Comcast Business also reports it has plans to launch Business Internet 1 Gig and Business Internet 500 in the majority of its service areas throughout 2017 and into 2018.
Comcast CFO Mike Cavanagh reiterated the operator’s D3.1 commitment recently at an investor conference when he was asked about specific future strategies for widespread gigabit rollouts. He pointed out that Comcast has fiber fairly deep in its network, but D3.1 is a big part of its immediate plans.
“For us, from where we sit, we’re rolling out DOCSIS 3.1. We think that’s the most effective and efficient way to give big speeds across the footprint most quickly, most economically,” he said.
More on that is available here.
