It’s Comcast vs. Verizon in ‘Net Bandwidth Battle

In the latest installment in the battle of the “broadbands,” Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) announced the rollout of 50 mbps Internet service in parts of Washington state next month, pitting it against Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), which offers a 50 mbps service and plans to double it in the not-too-distant future.

Powered by DOCSIS 3.0 channel bonding technology, which it had promised to have past 20 percent of its customers by yearend, Comcast has begun rolling out higher Internet speed tiers and big boosts for current users, starting primarily in the Northeast.

Verizon already offers a 50 Mbps access offering in many FiOS areas, and a symmetric 20/20 in even more of them, previously topping the 16 mbps entry cabelcos still rets heavily on.

Last week, at the annual TelcoTV show, a top Verizon executive said that a 100 mbps offering is clearly in sight, but did not provide details.

For a time, it was thought really big bandwidth wasn’t that big a deal. That was until this year when streaming video hit the net big time with March Madness, the Beijing Olympics, presidential debates and more. Throw in the launch of numerous Web video destinations including Hulu and VUDU, and entertainment portals such as Comcast’s Fancast, and the need for speed is more than just a slick “Top Gun” line.

The nation’s top cableco recently outlined its DOCSIS 3.0, aka wideband, deployment timeline.

For those who missed the new higher speeds and bandwidth boosts, here they are:

New Residential Tiers:

• Extreme 50, offering up to 50 mbps of downstream speed and up to 10 mbps of upstream speed at $139.95/month.
• Ultra, offering up to 22 mbps of downstream speed and up to 5 mbps of upstream speed at $62.95/month.

In addition to the new speed tiers, Comcast also is increasing speeds for most of its existing customers.

• Performance tier customers will benefit from doubled downstream and upstream speeds, offering up to 12 mbps and 2 mbps, respectively.
• Performance Plus customers will be upgraded to Comcast's Blast! tier, which will double their download speeds to up to 16 mbps and provide up to 2 mbps of upload speed.

New Business Class Tiers:

• Deluxe 50 Mbps / 10 Mbps tier for $189.95/month, which includes a full suite of features and support. As part of their service, Comcast Business Class customers receive Microsoft Communications Services, providing corporate-class e-mail, calendaring and document sharing, as well as additional benefits such as firewall protection, static IP addresses, multiple e-mail addresses and business class 24/7 customer support.
• Current business class customers also will receive free speed increases. Speeds on the Starter tier will be doubled to up to 12 mbps / 2 mbps and a new Premium Tier also will be introduced, offering speeds up to 22 mbps / 5 mbps for only $99.95/month.

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