WindStream, Comcast Double Internet Speeds

Fueled by an abundance of valued Web video and network upgrades, service providers large and small are quickly ratcheting up their Internet access speeds, with Windstream Communications and Comcast Corp. the latest to double their previously fastest offerings.

Windstream has jumped the Internet speed available across most of its 16-state network from 6mbps to 12mbps and claims to now be offering 3mbps service to “virtually all of its broadband addressable lines,” thanks to a network upgrade. It also has teamed with TiVo Inc. to add content to speed.

Cable giant Comcast on Tuesday said it is doubling the speed of its top Internet service for businesses from 8mbps to 16mbps as part of an increasing focus on providing bundled services to SMBs. It said there’s no extra charge for the bandwidth boost.

“Windstream experienced a four-fold increase in Internet usage in 2007 as our broadband customer base grew 28 percent year-over-year,” said Ric Crane, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for the telco, in prepared comments.

Windstream high-speed Internet service is available at any speed – including 12mbps, 6mbps, 3mbps and 1.5mbps – for $19.99 per month for the first six months with qualifying services in participating areas, according to the company.

The telco is looking to make home networking easier by offering wireless home gateways, from 2Wire Inc., that can be remotely monitored.

While Windstream may not yet be a household name, it is quietly innovating with those that are, such as TiVo. The duo have been working on a user interface since last fall that, like TiVO’s much heralded efforts with Comcast and Cox Communications, draw heavily from the DVR maker’s software.

Windstream, however, is focusing on polishing the Internet video experience with the TiVo deal while cablecos are more focused on coming up with much better user interfaces for their digital TV services.

The Windstream-TiVo bundled offering provides subscribers with easy access to a broad array of downloadable content via TiVoCast and TiVo’s popular Amazon Unbox service in addition to streaming access to millions of songs via Rhapsody.

The duo said late last October that subscribers also will receive well known TiVo features including Season Pass recordings, WishList searches, remote scheduling capabilities, TiVoToGo transfers, and access to interactive services like weather and traffic from Yahoo! and Fandango movie ticketing.

Based in Little Rock, Ark., Windstream offers phone, broadband and digital TV services, and was formed through the spinoff of Alltel's landline business and merger with VALOR Telecom. The company said it has 3.2 million access lines in 16 states, $3.3 billion in annual revenues and 7,500 employees.

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