Comcast takes on Google, AT&T with gigabit service

  • The Philadelphia Inquirer
  • Tuesday, February 2, 2016 2:45pm
  • Business

PHILADELPHIA — With Google Fiber and AT&T rushing into the super-fast gigabit market for online streaming, Comcast Corp. disclosed plans on Tuesday for gigabit services in Atlanta, Nashville, Tenn., Detroit, Chicago and Miami. The turbo-charged Xfinity Internet service will first be available in early 2016 in Atlanta and Nashville.

Detroit, Chicago and Miami will follow later in 2016. Comcast did not release pricing.

Most Comcast Internet customers today purchase a 50-megabit-per-second service that’s one-twentieth the speed of a gigabit.

The Philadelphia area, where Comcast is based, is not part of the company’s initial gigabit rollout.

Comcast, the nation’s largest cable-TV and residential Internet company, says it will offer the fast services by upgrading its existing network. With the choice of markets, the company has matched Google Fiber’s plans in Atlanta, Nashville and Chicago. AT&T, meanwhile, has said it will offer gigabit speeds in Detroit and West Palm Beach, Fla. “We’re constantly working to ensure that our customers get the fastest speeds available, and that they get them first,” Comcast Cable’s central division president Bill Connors said in a statement.

Comcast’s entrance to the gigabit race comes as the company has initiated data-consumption caps so that heavy Internet users can be charged extra fees. Many consumers have complained to the Federal Communications Commission about the caps.

Data on Comcast’s website last November showed that the company had expanded data-consumption caps to 1,303 ZIP codes in 15 states, a significant part of Comcast’s cable-TV franchise areas.

In South Florida and Atlanta, Comcast has charged Xfinity Internet subscribers an extra $30 or $35 a month for unlimited Internet usage. In other areas, Comcast has charged subscribers $10 for every 50 gigabytes of data Internet data consumption over 300 gigabytes a month, or, as some say, $10 for a 50-gig bucket.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.