Comcast has been talking about unleashing the power of DOCSIS 3.1 in Detroit, and on Tuesday it announced an advanced consumer trial of 1 Gbps to residential customers throughout the city. It’s reportedly the first citywide 1 Gig service offered in the Motor City. The operator will use DOCSIS 3.1 technology to deliver the speeds over its existing network infrastructure.
AT&T has announced gigabit plans for parts of Detroit, as has Rocket Fiber for some spots.
The Comcast expansion reveal comes soon after Google Fiber’s recent news confirming conjecture that the company would halt plans in several cities it previously reported as potentials. Google says it is looking to refine its technology strategies for 1 Gbps services, and most likely that means laying less fiber and looking further into point-to-point wireless options via its acquisition of Webpass. More on that story is here.
As for Comcast’s gigabit plans, the operator is aiming to move beyond Detroit into other areas of the state next year.
“We’re delivering gigabit speeds over a network that already passes thousands of homes across all neighborhoods within the city of Detroit,” Tim Collins, SVP of Comcast’s Heartland region, says. ” We know our customers who live outside of Detroit are also eager for faster speeds, and we plan to roll out this new service into surrounding metro areas and across Michigan in 2017.”
The service’s base price is reported at $139.95 per month with no contract. Comcast also will test promotional pricing for $70 per month with a three-year agreement. Bundling plans are said to be in the works.
Gig rollouts tend to excite local business and community leaders for obvious reasons, and this one could have a particular effect on a city still working hard on revitalization, Tom Goddeeris, executive director of the Grandmont Rosedale Development Corp. in northwest Detroit, says.
“It’s exciting that Comcast is making this advanced technology available to Detroiters across the entire city,” Goddeeris observes. “Being able to tout that Detroit neighborhoods, including our own five communities, have 1 Gig internet service can contribute to our revitalization and encourage more people to come back into the city.”
Comcast has rolled out gigabit speeds using DOCSIS 3.1 in Atlanta, Nashville, and Chicago. It has plans to roll in Miami before the end of the year. For other areas of the country where the operator is talking about future gigabit service availability, a map is available here.
