The nationwide drumbeat for Comcast’s Deluxe 100 business class wideband tier continued with the recent launch of the service in southern New Jersey.
Comcast is rolling out Deluxue 100, which features up to 100 Mbps of speed on the downstream and up to 10 Mbps on the upstream, in its southern New Jersey systems serving Pleasantville, Vineland, Wildwood and Avalon, N.J.
“With this next-generation service, our Business Class customers’ online experience is significantly enhanced,” said Michael Maloney, vice president of business services for Comcast’s Freedom Region. “This new offering, which utilizes our existing, advanced fiber-optic network, will enable customers to operate their businesses more efficiently and productively than ever.”
Comcast previously launched Deluxe 100 in its hometown of Philadelphia, other parts of New Jersey, northern Delaware and Baltimore. The business-class DOCSIS 3.0 tier is also available in Washington D.C. Augusta, Ga., Minneapolis/St. Paul, and, as of last week, Washington and Oregon.
In the East Coast, Comcast competes primarily with Verizon for data customers.. Verizon’s fastest tier for its FiOS service clocks in at 50 Mbps/20 Mbps, but it has been testing a 100 Mbps tier of its own.
Comcast has said it will have a 100 Mbps offering in front of its residential customers sometime this year. Comcast has set a goal of having DOCSIS 3.0 in 80 percent of its systems by the end of the year.
The 100 Mbps tier is available to Comcast’s Business Class customers for $369.95 per month and includes Microsoft Communication Services, which Comcast said was valued at more than $500, and a productivity suite that combines Windows SharePoint and Microsoft Outlook e-mail powered by Microsoft Exchange Server for no additional fee.
Comcast has been using cable modem termination systems from Arris and customer premises equipment from SMC Networks for its 100 Mbps tier that bonds four downstream channels. A spokesman for Comcast said additional DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems from Arris (WBM760A), Cisco (DPC 3000), Netgear (CMD31T) and Motorola (SB6120) have been certified.
Comcast’s other DOCSIS 3.0 tiers are Extreme 50 and Ultra. Extreme features download speeds of up to 50 Mbps and upstream speeds of 10 Mbps for $99.95 per month with a subscription to Comcast’s video or voice services. Ultra clocks in with 22 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up at a cost of $62.95 per month when paired with the company’s video or voice offerings.