The internet is quickly becoming a utility as essential for modern life as electricity or heat. Speed matters, especially to people who more and more rely on the internet for everyday tasks.
In a statement, Comcast announced today that it is launching an advanced consumer trial of a new internet service that will deliver speeds up to 1 Gigabit-per-second (Gbps) to residential customers throughout the entire city of Detroit.
According to Comcast, the service is the first citywide 1 Gig service offered in Detroit and one of the first in the nation. Comcast will use DOCSIS 3.1 technology to deliver these speeds over the company’s existing network infrastructure.
There are three other cities that currently have 1 Gig service offered by Comcast; Atlanta, Nashville, and Chicago. Comcast plans on extending this service to Miami by the end of the year.
“We’re delivering gigabit speeds over a network that already passes thousands of homes across all neighborhoods within the city of Detroit,” said Tim Collins, senior vice president of Comcast’s Heartland region, which includes Michigan.
Comcast says they plan to roll this out in other parts of the metro area in 2017.
The speed comes at a cost. Without a contract it is $139.95 per month. Comcast will also test promotional base pricing for $70 per month with a three-year service agreement and plans to introduce bundled packaging in the future.
There are also local players in the high-speed market. Rocket Fiber, based in downtown Detroit, has quickly gained traction but it currently only serves a small portion of the city. Another Michigan competitor, Lightspeed, only serves select buildings downtown, however, they are building out service in parts of the suburb of Southfield according to their website.
