Comcast Up Download Speed to 6 Mbps

[mcs328]

http://wtop.com/?sid=541610&nid=25

Comcast to Boost Speed for 'Net Service at Home
Updated: Tuesday, Jul. 12, 2005 - 7:09 AM

By DEBORAH YAO
AP Business Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Comcast Corp. plans to increase the speed of its residential high-speed Internet service by as much as 100 percent.

The nation's largest cable operator will begin offering residential customers two new faster download speeds _ 6 megabits per second and 8 megabits per second _ this summer.

A user with an 8 Mbps connection _ double Comcast's current speed _ could download a four-megabyte file, a typical size for a music file, in four seconds.

The new speeds will take effect as early as July 20 for customers in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Detroit, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. For most of its other markets, the accelerated speeds will be available by the end of summer. The Philadelphia-based company serves 7.4 million high-speed Internet customers in 35 states and the District of Columbia.

Comcast subscribers automatically will be upgraded to 6 Mbps for free, as long as they also are cable customers. Those who want to get the fastest connection will have to pay $10 more a month.

For customers who subscribe to high-speed Internet service, but not cable TV, Comcast will charge $10 more per month for the 6 Mbps service and $20 more per month for the 8 Mbps service. Customers can stay at the current speed if they wish, the company said.

The faster speeds make it easier for users to stream video, audio and download games over the Internet. Consumers also can more easily upload photos and share picture slideshows with music.

Comcast said it has boosted downstream speeds by more than 400 percent in less than two years, going from 1.5 Mbps to 8 Mbps.

Blair Levin, telecom analyst for Legg Mason, said consumers can expect to see more companies with different levels of broadband service at different prices. Some people will opt to pay less for a slower speed while others don't mind shelling out more money for faster connections, Levin said.
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Sweet...free upgrade to 6 and 10/month more for 8.

[thekidrocks]

Geee, it's the least they can do for what they charge!

Signed: ex-Comcast customer.

[Merlin]

Their service is on the expensive side. But it is good so I stay with it. Now if I could only get those speeds when downloading. You can still only receive as fast as the other guy can send.

[zero2dash]

A user with an 8 Mbps connection _ double Comcast's current speed _ could download a four-megabyte file, a typical size for a music file, in four seconds.

...and this morning, the RIAA and MPAA closed up shop, waived a white flag, and said "uncle".

Their service is on the expensive side. But it is good so I stay with it. Now if I could only get those speeds when downloading. You can still only receive as fast as the other guy can send.

I have SBC DSL Pro myself. There's a promo right now (and it's cheaper) but I pay $36/mo for 2.3-3mb/s down and 418k up and it's good enough for me. But you're right about other people's connections...seems like a mixed bag still. I used to think that by this time, everyone would have good solid connections but there's still an occasional "slow guy" out there. I average 200k/sec on BitTorrent though, so I still get close (I easily reach 3mb from websites and ftps).

[mcs328]

I figure for gaming this might be an improvemet if I didn't have such a crappy system built 2 years ago. Anyways in my condo, Comcast and Verizon DSL are my only options really. I'd like them to up my upload speed but I dunno if that makes a difference when playing WoW.

[Jeffbx]

The new speeds will take effect as early as July 20 for customers in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Detroit, New Jersey and Washington, D.C.

Woo hoo! I thought 4 was enough. Guess not.

Now if only they would give the upload a little boost...

[PrObLy]

Woo hoo! I thought 4 was enough. Guess not.

Now if only they would give the upload a little boost...

It's pretty amazing....when I'm at home I actually get download speeds of 4, blazing fast. I was happy to find out that they had increased the upload 50% a while back.....but that was from 256 to 384, they could surely stand to increase that a bit more as it still takes a loooooong time to upload my photos or anything else.

[SmokeyDP]

...and this morning, the RIAA and MPAA closed up shop, waived a white flag, and said "uncle".

LOL.

Too bad they are paid for with our tax dollars. They will never go out of buisness.

I have been getting 10Megabits with OptimumOnline for 7 years now in Central Jersey. I can download at 10Megabit from newsgroups without an issue. Sometimes it slows down to 8 if its during a busy time though.

[bachviet]

That's cool. I wonder when Comcast/TW is going to buy the screwed up Adelphia so I could get better connection at lower price.

BTW I'm still on Yahoo DSL (max. 1.5 mbps) for now.

[Markel]

I guess I can look forward to a boost from 4mbps to 6mbps. I just hope it goes smoother than their last upgrade from 3 to 4mpbs. There were a lot of glitches during that one.

[nate el bueno]

I guess I can look forward to a boost from 4mbps to 6mbps. I just hope it goes smoother than their last upgrade from 3 to 4mpbs. There were a lot of glitches during that one.

ah, yes, the time where we couldn't do anything because all our pings were over 4000. a simple solution of unplugging his cable while he was away always solved this problem