Comcast is just one of the companies in the country that’s working to provide gigabit internet, there are other players in the field trying to capture a chunk of the super-fast internet access market, players like Google for example. One way these companies can get a leg up on their rivals is by expediting roll out to more cities across the country, Comcast knows this all too well which is why it now expects to deliver gigabit internet access nationwide by 2018.
Vice president of Comcast’s network architecture tells FierceCable that the DOCSIS 3.1 standard broadband technology should reach the company’s entire customer base within two to three years, no later than 2018.
Comcast has set a goal to finish the roll out by 2018, for most customers the service will top out at 1Gbps initially, with the 2Gbps option being a bit harder to get your hands on.
The DOCSIS 3.1 standard can scale up to 10Gbps in ideal conditions so there’s a lot of room there for service to be improved once it has been rolled out, when coupled with a compatible cable model it could provide users with multi-gigabit downloads a few years from now.
Pricing will be a major concern for customers and will directly affect gigabit internet adoption in the country, Comcast hasn’t said if the gigabit service will get any cheaper once it goes nationwide by 2018.