It’s Gigabit Pro day. Soon after announcing that it had begun to roll out the new 2-Gig residential service to Nashville and middle Tennessee, Comcast said the new offering is also starting its push into the Midwest, starting with an anticipated debut in several markets in the greater Chicago region later this month.
The rollout in the Chicago area, which also factors in parts of Northwest Indiana and comes as this week’s INTX show is being hosted in The Windy City, will make Gigabit Pro available to about 2.4 million customers there, Comcast said.
AT&T launched its fiber-based GigaPower service in parts of Chicago last month.
Additionally, Comcast will make the service available through Xfinity Communities, a program for residents living in apartments and other multi-dwelling units.
Comcast is in the process of making Gigabit Pro available to about 18 million homes by the end of the year, offering it to customers who are within about one-third of a mile of the MSO’s fiber network. Deployments are also underway in Chattanooga, Tenn.; Atlanta; parts of Florida, including Miami and Jacksonville; and certain areas of California.
Comcast has not announced pricing for Gigabit Pro, a service that relies on fiber-to-the-premises technology. Plans are also underway for Comcast to offer residential gigabit speeds on its HFC plant using the emerging DOCSIS 3.1 platform.
“Greater Chicago Region customers will be the first in the Midwest to have access to multi-gigabit speeds,” John Crowley, regional SVP of Comcast Cable’s Greater Chicago Region, said. “We’re thrilled to bring the nation’s fastest speeds here and hope the introduction of Gigabit Pro will help further establish the region as the next great hub of technology and innovation.”
