Comcast has announced that it has begun a nationwide rollout of multi-gig Internet speeds, one that will reach “more than 50 million homes and businesses before the end of 2025.” Download speeds of “up to 2 Gigs” and “up to 5x-to-10x faster upload speeds” are rolling out immediately, with 10G-enabled multi-gig symmetrical services planned for launch in the second half of 2023. Comcast noted that 10G will be delivered to people over existing connections, meaning there won’t be a need to “dig up yards and neighborhoods.”
Goals of the initiative, per Comcast:
- Immediately rolling out download speeds up to 2 Gigs – combined with up to 5x-to-10x faster upload speeds – to millions of homes and businesses; available in 34 cities and towns before the end of 2022; more than 50 million homes and businesses by the end of 2025; and continuing throughout the entire network. Initial rollouts are already underway in Colorado Springs, CO; Augusta, GA; and Panama City Beach, FL, with more launched at a regular cadence through the end of the year
- For Xfinity customers: extending new multi-gigabit network speeds throughout the home with the multi-gig-capable Wi-Fi 6E Gateway, xFi connected home platform, and xFi Pod Wi-Fi extenders
- For Comcast Business customers: Delivering ultra-fast Wi-Fi speeds for businesses with a new multi-gig capable gateway
- Completing the core technical foundation for 10G, which will deliver multi-gig symmetrical speeds over the connections already installed in tens of millions of homes and businesses
- Finalizing transition to a cloud-based, virtualized network that enables faster speeds, greater reliability for customers, while also implementing a network architectural update that enables greater upload and download capacity
- Building multi-gig capabilities that can reach everyone connected to Comcast’s network, not just select neighborhoods and customers, just as Comcast has done with previous network improvements
- Improving energy efficiency, helping Comcast become carbon neutral by 2035
“We’re making our network even smarter and faster, which allows us to quickly deliver true multi-gig Wi-Fi to tens of millions of businesses and residential consumers at an unprecedented pace,” said Charlie Herrin, President of Technology, Product, Experience at Comcast Cable. “Whatever the application, whatever the future holds, our network and world-class, whole-home Wi-Fi experience will be there and ready to power all of our customers’ connected experiences.”
“10G will deliver so much more than just speed,” said Elad Nafshi, EVP & Chief Network Officer at Comcast Cable. “The digitization and virtualization work we are doing today is already enhancing our customers’ connected experiences and delivering better performance.”
From a Comcast press release:
Powered by DOCSIS 4.0, 10G will deliver multi-gig symmetrical speeds to tens of millions of people over the connections already installed in their homes and businesses, without the need to dig up yards and neighborhoods, or pick and choose who gets faster speeds and who doesn’t. The technical updates included in the initiative announced today are a necessary precursor to Comcast’s 10G deployment.
Thanks to this work, Comcast plans to start launching 10G-enabled multi-gig symmetrical speeds to customers in the second half of 2023. That work will happen on a parallel path with the introduction of the faster speeds launching now.
Over the past 24 months, Comcast has made significant advances in 10G technology, including several world firsts. The company has conducted successful tests of all the technical components necessary to deliver 10G speeds to customers and is now looking forward to beginning live trials.