Comcast will rev up its broadband Internet service by the end of summer, giving the average residential customer up to 50 percent faster download speeds.
The change will mean download speeds of 6 megabits per second, compared with 4 megabits per second at present, for the standard residential customer.
At 6 megabits, the average MP3 song will take about 9 seconds to download, Kipp said.
Those who receive both Internet access and cable television from Comcast won’t pay anything extra for the accelerated service. For an added $10 a month, customers will be able to receive an 8 megabit-per-second connection.
The upgrades are scheduled to begin next week in the Northeast. Steve Kipp, Comcast’s regional spokesman in Bothell, said the Puget Sound area should see the faster speeds within the next two months.
“With cable, it’s relatively simple to upgrade,” Kipp said, noting that customers will not have to download any special files or change their connections to receive the bump up to 6 megabits per second.
Kipp said speed is becoming a more relevant factor as growing number of people share digital photos online and download or stream video and music. Since fall 2003, Comcast has increased its downstream speeds by more than 400 percent, according to the company.
In this region, the company’s high-speed Internet service costs about $46 a month for customers who also subscribe to Comcast’s standard or digital cable packages.
That compares with about $38 per month for Verizon’s DSL access, which claims top download speeds of about 3 megabits per second. Customers who commit to a year, however, pay about $30 a month.
Additionally, both Comcast and Verizon are offering introductory specials of less than $20 for the first few months as the competition heats up.
“There’s no question the race is on,” said Kevin Laverty, a spokesman at Verizon’s Northwest headquarters in Everett. “People have to determine … what’s a greater value for them.”
“What is good about this for the consumer is price points are coming down and speeds are improving,” he added.
While DSL can’t claim to be faster than cable Internet access, Verizon recently began rolling out a service that brings fiber-optic lines to a customers in some areas of the country. That allows for download speeds of a blazing 15 megabits per second at present, and up to double that in the future. That service, however, isn’t scheduled for Verizon’s territory in the Puget Sound area, Laverty said.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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