Suddenlink Communicatins has expanded its 1 Gbps residential broadband service to four more areas of Texas -- Lubbock, Shallowater, Wolfforth and Post – while also juicing up the speeds of two existing tiers for no added cost.
As part of the upgrade, customers on the existing 75 Mbps (downstream) tier will jump to 100 Mbps, and those on the 100 Mbps offering will get 200 Mbps, Suddenlink said.
The 1-Gig launches, part of the MSO’s Operation GigaSpeed initiative, follow initial debuts in systems serving Bryan-College Station, Texas; Nixa, Mo.; and Greenville and Rocky Mount, N.C.
Suddenlink, which is being acquired by Altice Group for $9.1 billion, has been selling the standalone 1-Gig service, paired with an upstream that maxes out at 50 Mbps, for $109 per month in some markets, and rent a WiFi-enabled modem for $10 per month or a stand-alone modem for $5 per month.
Suddenlink is powering its 1-Gig residential service with DOCSIS 3.0, and also happens to be an early taker for the Hitron CDA3-35, a model that can bond up to 32 downstream channels and up to eight upstream channels. On the downstream end, that’s enough to pump out max speeds of 1.2 Gbps in North American systems that use 6MHz-sized DOCSIS channels.
“Today’s announcement is the next step in Operation GigaSpeed, the company-wide plan we announced last August,” said Suddenlink regional SVP of operations Dave Gilles, in a statement. “In sharp contrast to companies like Google and AT&T, which are offering a Gigabit service only to a few neighborhoods in primarily urban markets, we’re making our service available in all of the neighborhoods and households we are able to serve throughout the Lubbock area.”
“This faster, high-speed Internet offering is a tremendous tool for our businesses, residents and education communities,” added Lubbock Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Eddie McBride. “The enhanced ability to connect and communicate with the world will help local businesses grow and will be attractive to new businesses. We're fortunate to have a partner like Suddenlink for many reasons, and the company’s commitment to offer this service here in the Hub City and the South Plains is just the latest.”
