A few weeks ago, Insight Communications began teasing users about a slew of upcoming changes, launching a new ad campaign in the process. On Monday Insight CEO Michael Willner posted a blog entry announcing how the company was going all digital and launching some new HD channels in a number of markets. Unfortunately, the announcement didn't include a DOCSIS 3.0 launch, though Willner added another blog post today that notes a faster 30 Mbps downstream, 3 Mbps upstream DOCSIS 2.0 tier is coming. Willner had this to say about DOCSIS 3.0 upgrades, which the company has been testing for some time:Usually, cable operators that take their time in deploying faster DOCSIS 3.0 technology aren't facing particularly tough telco competition on the next-generation broadband front. As for the new 30 Mbps tier, Willner didn't give a price or launch date for the tier, but he did say it's coming before the end of the year. Those interested can find some additional discussion in our Insight forum.

Insight Communications CEO Michael Willner has stopped by our forums to discuss how the cable company is still dealing with the aftermath of the terrible ice storms that recently rocked the south. In Kentucky, many utility poles snapped like twigs, though Willner says "our plant worked miraculously well under very extreme circumstances," and notes that their crews have been working twenty-four hours a day to get things resolved. As of Monday morning, Willner blogged that 10% of modems remained offline in Louisville, 5% in Evansville, and 3% in Lexington -- with Northern Kentucky, Columbus and Bowling Green all back to normal operations.

According to the Lexington Herald Reader, Insight Communications is testing a 100Mbps cable broadband service, but is not specifying when they might bring the technology to a broader audience. The article is painfully vague, so we're checking with Insight as to the real scope of their DOCSIS 3.0 testing. In other Insight news, customers in our Insight forum indicate that the carrier is preparing to revamp their high definition channel lineup in December, and has launched a new Insight Digital 4.0 website aimed with highlighting their new channels.

Cynthia Brumfield at IP Democracy e-mailed me this morning to note that Insight Communications CEO Michael Willner has started blogging, and one of his first posts discusses how he scouts Broadband Reports before he reads the NY Times. Willner has long been very active in our forums, particularly during the company's recent unwinding of a partnership with Comcast, which resulted in the transfer of thousands of customers.

Insight Communications in January transferred half of their customer base to Comcast after the two companies unwound a longstanding partnership. Many of those customers are now being welcomed to the Comcast family in the form of 6% cable TV rate hikes.

We first reported that Insight Communications started offering 20Mbps/1.5Mbps cable broadband service in limited markets last November. Today the company issued a press release stating that the speedier tier was being expanded across their entire Kentucky and Indiana footprint. As we've previously reported, the tier is being offered for $20 more than their 10Mbps service.Interestingly, the company says the tier will only be available on a "first-come, first-served basis." The company says that means about 4% of their userbase will be able to sign up for the new tier, while they try and make sure the nation's tenth largest cable broadband network can handle the strain.

Comcast recently took control of Midwest networks owned by Insight. Comcast planned for the transition to be gradual on the customer’s end.

As expected after last April's announcement, Comcast today took control of networks belonging to Insight Communications in the Midwest. Comcast now owns the networks serving Illinois customers in Rockford/Dixon, Quincy/Macomb, Springfield, Peoria and Champaign/Urbana, and Indiana customers in Bloomington, Anderson, and Lafayette/Kokomo.

Insight Communications broadband users (at least the ones that aren't going to be transferred to Comcast at the end of the year) tell us that the company has started pitching 20Mbps/1Mbps speed tiers in several markets. According to one user in Indiana, they're bumping customers from 10Mbps to 20Mbps for an additional $20 per month.

With the media's recent rediscovery of Comcast's half-decade old practice of booting high-consumption users, our Comcast forum regulars are running a poll asking just how much bandwidth you consume per month (download an app like DU Meter if you have no idea). The discussion of broadband caps has re-kindled calls (mostly by industry) that we shift from a flat rate system to a billed by the byte bandwidth model.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the sale of Insight Communications has been shelved for the time being. Time Warner Cable recently confirmed they were interested in acquiring Insight Communications -- or at least what remains after 684,000 Insight customers get transferred to Comcast at the end of this year. Insight owner the Carlyle Group apparently didn't like the offers they received so they're waiting for a better time:Time Warner Cable was thought to be the most likely suitor due to geographic proximity to Insight markets.

Time Warner Cable recently confirmed they were interested in acquiring Insight Communications (see reviews) -- at least what will be left of Insight after 684,000 Insight customers get transferred to Comcast at the end of this year.

In a conference call with analysts and investors to discuss company earnings ,(pdf) CEO Michael Willner, who has frequently made himself easily accessible to users in our forums, couldn't (probably can't, legally) offer additional detail about the possible sale:It's believed that Insight would be willing to let go of their remaining 639,000 customers (plus the 18,900 added this last quarter) for around $3 billion. Time Warner Cable was also mentioned this week as a possible buyer for Charter Communications.