Broadband giant Comcast said it is beginning deployment of its fastest internet connectivity in select cities in the U.S.
The company is deploying its DOCSIS 4.0 technology, which can delivery symmetrical upload and download speeds, ranging from 300 megabits per second (Mbps) to two Gbps.
This announcement comes as the company aims to deliver multi-gig symmetrical speeds to residential customers over their existing connections.
Next week, Comcast plans to introduce the first residential customers to this next-generation internet experience. The deployment will initially be available in select neighborhoods of Colorado Springs, with areas of Atlanta and Philadelphia set to come online in the near future.
“The ubiquity of our network, which is already accessible to tens of millions of homes, provides us with an incredible opportunity to bring multi-gigabit upload and download speeds to communities across the country with the scale and efficiency that no other provider can replicate,” said Dave Watson, CEO of Comcast Cable, in a statement. “Our connectivity experience, powered by the Xfinity 10G Network, will allow us to deliver speeds up to 10 Gbps over our traditional network to virtually all our customers, plus even better reliability, lower latency, and the best in-home WiFi coverage.”
Comcast’s introduction of DOCSIS 4.0 will bring forth a new portfolio of symmetrical products for residential customers. These products, known as X-Class Internet, will offer a range of speed tiers, including X-300 Mbps, X-500 Mbps, X-1 Gbps, and X-2 Gbps. With low lag and ultra-responsive performance, X-Class Internet aims to provide an exceptional online experience for activities such as live sports streaming, work calls, and gaming.
The path to DOCSIS 4.0 for Comcast involves leveraging breakthrough network technology called “full duplex.” This technology allows for dramatically increased upstream speeds without compromising downstream speeds, using the same network spectrum.
Comcast conducted the first-ever live test of full duplex DOCSIS in 2021 and later achieved the world’s first 10G connection from the network to a modem. Last year, Comcast conducted a live trial connecting a business location to its DOCSIS 4.0-enabled 10G network. In February 2023, the company made a significant milestone by launching the Xfinity 10G Network upgrade to 10 million homes and businesses.
In addition to the DOCSIS 4.0 deployment, Comcast has invested in various technologies to enhance its network’s speed, reliability, and latency. These include distributed access architecture (DAA), a vCMTS, Comcast Octave, Xfinity Fiber Meter (XMF), Storm-Ready WiFi, and low latency implementations.
DOCSIS, which stands for Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification, was initially introduced in 1997 as a means to transmit high-speed data over existing cable wires. Comcast has been at the forefront of deploying DOCSIS updates, including the introduction of DOCSIS 3.1-powered Gigabit Internet service in 2016.
Residents of Colorado Springs will have the opportunity to sign up online for these new DOCSIS 4.0-powered Internet plans.