Comcast intends to upgrade its entire communications network with new technology that will bring 10 gigabit per second connection speeds to its whole coverage area within two years.
Comcast’s VP of network architecture Robert Howald said as much to FierceCable today. The new high speeds will be brought about by a network upgrade to DOCSIS 3.1 technology, Howald said.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":1790507,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"business,cloud,media,","session":"A"}']Comcast says it plans to start testing the new technology in selected markets soon. “We’re testing it this year,” Howald told FierceCable. “Our intent is to scale it through our footprint through 2016.”
Before any customers can enjoy speeds of more than 1 Gbps, they’ll have to get a new modem, however. Comcast announced in May that a new DOCSIS 3.1 modem will go into production this year and will be available in early 2016.
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The 10 Gbps top speed, Howald explained, is highly dependent on perfect network conditions and upgraded network gear. So customers probably won’t see 10 Gbps even with the new modems, but anything even approaching that will likely seem like a game-changing improvement.
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