With time running very short on its CEO’s January 2008 promise to pass 20 percent of the homes is passes by yearend with DOCSIS 3.0 channel bonding technology, cable colossus Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) today claimed it will reach the goal by the end of the month.
The company announced plans to pass 10 million homes by yearend just last month, launching the technology in several markets, including Greater Boston, Philadelphia, all of New Jersey, Seattle, Portland, Spokane, The Twin Cities, and Eugene, Ore.
Today it added Baltimore, Chicago, Atlanta and Ft. Wayne, Ind. to the list.
While CableLabs Inc.’s DOCSIS 3.0 can support channel bonding to support 160 mbps downlinks and 120 mbps uplinks, Comcast is bonding “mostly” three channels down and none up, claiming it will begin channel bonding for uplinks next year.
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts pledged to pass 20 percent of its customer base (homes passed) by yearend roughly a year ago, and again in a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show this past January.
In a fall press release, the cable kingpin announced both new, high-speed pay tiers and free upgrades to current users of its lower speed access customers to substantially higher speeds.
To access the new, highest-speed tiers, consumers will need to buy a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, according to a spokesperson for Comcast. Those current users of the lower speeds can access the free, higher speeds, using current modems and doing software upgrades.
