Using its fiber-to-the-home network, GVTC recently boosted its data tier speeds to 80 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up in the area of south Texas that it serves.
The new speeds doubled GVTC’s previous fastest Internet tier of 40/10, which was launched in 2009.
“Consumers obviously enjoy streaming video and downloading HD movies, but these applications use a lot of bandwidth and can slow down other Internet devices in your household,” CEO Ritchie Sorrells said. “The reality is bandwidth consumption will continue to increase. We’re once again ahead of the curve with our 80 Mbps connection, and this tier will be popular with the growing number of households that realize they have a need for speed.”
The cost of the new data tier is $199 bundled with two other services, $204.95 bundled with one other service or $209.95 month to month.
GVTC competes against Time Warner Cable in some areas of Texas. Last week Time Warner Cable launched its DOCSIS 3.0 tier, which features downstream speeds of up to 50 Mbps and upstream speeds of up to 5 Mbps, in Austin and plans on offering the wideband service to additional Texas communities by this fall.
GVTC has tapped into social media as a means to promote its faster speeds. Twenty-five customers, who signed up through Facebook, are using the 80 Mbps connection for 30 days, at no additional charge. At the end of the trial period, one customer will be able to keep the 80/20 upgrade for an additional five months.
GVTC is in the middle of a $35 million project to upgrade existing customers with FTTH. When complete, more than two-thirds of its 2,000-square-mile service area will have a fiber connection available. GVTC currently has more than 230 subdivisions connected via FTTH.