Suddenlink Communications launched its Max 107.0 DOCSIS 3.0-based data service in two counties in West Virginia and in two counties in Ohio.
Max 107.0, which features the fastest DOCSIS 3.0 downstream speeds in the nation, is now available to Suddenlink’s residential subscribers in the West Virginia counties of Mason and Jackson, as well as in Gallia and Meigs counties in Ohio.
Suddenlink spokesman Gene Regan said the 107 Mbps tier, which features an upstream of up to 5 Mbps, would launch any day in Amarillo, Texas.
The Ohio/West Virginia area, which includes Point Pleasant, Ripley, Ravenswood, Gallipolis and Pomeroy, was among the earliest in Suddenlink’s footprint to receive the Max 107.0 tier, which was first launched in Georgetown, Texas, on March 30 and then in Tyler, Texas, on May 18.
Max 107.0 has also blazed a trail into the Austin, Texas, suburbs of Georgetown, Leander and Pflugerville. Max 107.0 cost $120 per month as a standalone service and $107 per month as part of a bundled package.
Earlier this month, Suddenlink started offering its DOCSIS 3.0-enabled Max 50.0 service in Bryan-College Station in Texas, which it said was the fastest residential high-speed Internet service in the community. Max 50.0 features a download speed of up to 50 Mbps and an upstream speed of up to 3 Mbps.
In addition to Bryan-College Station, Suddenlink has deployed Max 50.0 in New Bern, N.C., Bossier City and Lake Charles/Sulphur, La., and Nixa/Ozark, Mo.
Suddenlink doesn’t offer Max 107.0 and Max 50.0 in the same markets. Max 50.0 costs $110 per month a la carte and $100 bundled
In February, Suddenlink started offering its Max 36.0 tier, which has download speeds of up to 36 Mbps and upstream speeds of up to 2 Mbps, in Lubbock and Midland, Texas.
Max 36.0 costs $75 per month a la carte and $65 as part of a bundle. Regan said Max 36.0 was an interim DOCSIS 3.0 tier before the company offers faster speeds in those areas.
Regan said Suddenlink has launched its 20 Mbps residential tier in numerous markets. Suddenlink also offers data tiers with speeds of up to 1.5, 10 and 15 Mbps.
The DOCSIS 3.0 tiers are the result of Suddenlink’s “Project Imagine,” which calls for approximately $350 million of capital investments nationwide through 2012, above and beyond the company’s traditional capital spending levels. In addition to the DOCSIS 3.0 tiers, Project Imagine’s roadmap also includes more HD choices, expanded digital phone service and more VOD offerings.
Regan wrote via e-mail that Suddenlink has stretched its DOCSIS 3.0 reach to 66 percent of its basic subscribers, which was up from 12 percent on June 30. Once Project Imagine wraps up in two years, Suddenlink expects to have DOCSIS 3.0 in 90 percent of its footprint.
At The Cable Show last month, Suddenlink senior vice president and CTO Terry Cordova said his company was targeting DOCSIS 3.0 in 75 percent of its footprint by year’s end.
During a session at The Cable Show, Cordova said Suddenlink typically allocated four to six channels for DOCSIS 3.0 deployments in smaller markets and up to eight channels in larger markets.
And Suddenlink, along with Cablevision and Charter, has reportedly submitted a bid to buy Bresnan Communications.
