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story category Comcast Launches DOCSIS 3.0 In New England
Though Comcast has yet to officially actually tell anybody...
(old news - 10:35AM Wednesday Oct 22 2008)
tags: business · bandwidth · cable · Comcast
On Monday we were the first to report that Comcast was getting very close to launching new 22Mbps/5Mbps and 50Mbps/10Mbps DOCSIS 3.0 speeds in a handful of new markets. While insiders I've spoken to kept repeating October 30 as a potential launch date for several markets, I'm now hearing that parts of New England are now up and running on the DOCSIS 3.0 network as of today.

Comcast's Metro Boston, Twin Cities, Northern New England and Southern Massachusetts are completely upgraded, and some customers in our forums say they're not only seeing the new speeds, they're now showing up on Comcast ordering systems. As we reported, in addition to the faster DOC 3.0 tiers, existing tiers are seeing double the speeds at no cost:
Click for full size
I am in Massachusetts and I can confirm that the new speeds showed up last night. My modem's provisioned rate went from 8800/2200 to 17600/2000 after a restart this morning and a quick check of the ordering page shows that the new DOCSIS 3.0 speed tiers are available for ordering now.
Apparently Comcast's website for ordering the new tiers in New England has also gone live, which suggests we've exited the testing phase and have entered commercial launch. Another customer confirms that, at least in New England, the prices will be as we exclusively reported on Monday:
Same here in MetroWest MA, both on the modem and on the ordering site.

Options are:
Performance (12, boost to 15)- $42.95
Blast (16, boost to 20)- $52.95
Ultra (22, boost to 30)- $62.95 + $3 modem
Extreme 50 (50)- $139.95 + $3 modem
According insiders familiar with Comcast's upgrade plan, Comcast is circulating internal communications saying Comcast "is announcing our new faster Internet speeds to the national press," though Comcast's PR department is so far remaining quiet on the news. I spoke briefly with Comcast yesterday and was told I'd get a call back soon with more details on DOCSIS 3.0 launches, though that has yet to happen. They're apparently dotting i's and crossing t's.

It's clear that many of you won't have long to wait.

Update: Looks like a pre-qual for the faster DOCSIS 3.0 tiers has also gone live.

Update 2: Comcast finally issued a press release this afternoon:
In the next few weeks, Comcast’s new services will be available to millions of residential homes and businesses in parts of New England, including the Boston Metropolitan region and Southern New Hampshire, as well as areas of Philadelphia and New Jersey. These services also will be available in the Twin Cities where wideband was launched earlier this year. Comcast plans to continue to roll out wideband across its footprint and expects to reach more than 10 major markets and pass nearly 10 million homes and businesses in the next several months.

Related:
  1. Comcast Raises Cable Modem Rental Fee
  2. Comcast DOCSIS 3.0 Hits Denver
  3. Verizon Won't 'Slavishly Satisfy' You With 100 Mbps FiOS
  4. Comcast Still Fighting FCC Throttling Sanction
  5. Comcast Bandwidth Meter Still A No Show
  6. Comcast Slammed For Non-Existent Throttling Changes
  7. Comcast Website Hackers Indicted
  8. Vivendi In Way Of Comcast's NBC Desires
Forums » Comcast Launches DOCSIS 3.0 In New England
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neufuse

join:2006-12-06
Indiana, PA
·Comcast

indiana, pa

not sure if they are testing or upgrading. all week we've had downtime, and last night it went down for 6 hours and now is back up at 17mbit sustained (not powerboost) just downloaded a 4GB file at near 2MB/s the ENTIRE time only took about 30 minuites to do it

swhitney2003
I can't drive 55.
Premium
join:2003-06-13
NH
clubs:
·Skype
·Verizon Wireless B..
·Comcast


1 edit

where can i see what is available?

Click for full size
Packages Offered
when i go to comcast.com, the only internet option i see is a promotional offer for 6mbps. nothing about the upgraded tier. where can i see a better list?

ropeguru
Premium
join:2001-01-25
Bridgeport, WV
clubs:

Re: where can i see what is available?

I wass getting ready to ask the same question. I want to see all the available packages and not just specials. Why do these people have to make it so damn complicated??

baineschile
2600
Premium
join:2008-05-10
Sterling Heights, MI
»www.comcast.com/fastestfast/

swhitney2003
I can't drive 55.
Premium
join:2003-06-13
NH
clubs:
·Skype
·Verizon Wireless B..
·Comcast

Re: where can i see what is available?

said by baineschile See Profile :

»www.comcast.com/fastestfast/
I was looking more for a list of options. Performance, Perf. Plus, Blast... all listed out, with their speeds and prices. I cannot find this anywhere (to see what is available in my area). Thanks for the link though, I did request to be notified.

baineschile
2600
Premium
join:2008-05-10
Sterling Heights, MI
·Comcast
·magicjack.com
·Verizon Wireless B..


1 edit

Re: where can i see what is available?

All prices contingent on having TV service

Tier
Speeds (down/up)
Rate

Economy
768/384
$24.95

Performance
12/2
up to 15 w/PowerBoost
$42.95

Blast!
16/2
up to 20 w/PowerBoost
$52.95

Ultra NEW
22/5
up to 30 w/PowerBoost
$62.95

Extreme 50 NEW
50/10
$139.95
hihi

join:2007-05-06
Port Orange, FL

Re: where can i see what is available?

24.95 is 4/384
not 768/384
where did u get this info from???

i spoken with comcast
yes its 4mb/384
not bad but not great either
i prefer 6/1 for 29.95

BillRoland
Premium
join:2001-01-21
Ocala, FL
clubs:
·Cox HSI

Modem Rental only for DOCSIS 3?

I'm not in a Comcast area, but if I'm reading this correctly, it looks like the DOCSIS 3.0 tiers require a $3 rental fee for the DOCSIS 3.0 modem? This must be because of the limited supply?
--
"Don't steal. The government hates competition."

NOZIREV

join:2008-07-10
New Bedford, MA

Re: Modem Rental only for DOCSIS 3?

Comcast has always had a 3$ modem rental fee unless you own your own modem.

swhitney2003
I can't drive 55.
Premium
join:2003-06-13
NH
clubs:
Currently you cannot purchase the modems. Comcast must provide the modems for you, thus rental fees.
hihi

join:2007-05-06
Port Orange, FL

Re: Modem Rental only for DOCSIS 3?

DSL now only exist as an alternative to cable superior speed

20/2, 22/5,50/10
insanely speed...
ViRGEdx

join:2002-10-25

Is this a temporary change, or is it some new cable industry policy? I don't like Comcast's modems and I don't like that it costs me more in the long run; I'd like to own a solid D3 modem just like I have a D1.1 modem for the past 6 years. Having to rent the cheapest modem Comcast can find isn't very appealing.

PGHammer

join:2003-06-09
Accokeek, MD
clubs:
·Comcast

Re: Modem Rental only for DOCSIS 3?

That is primarily because the newer DOCSIS v3 modems haven't shown up in the retail channel yet (especially those from Motorola). While they are shipping to the cable companies, they won't ship into the retail channel until the service has gone live in that area (the same was true with the original DOCSIS and DOCSIS 1.1). I bought my first retail modem (GI/Motorola SURFboard SB-4100) back in 2001, and I paid through the nose for it (nearly $200); however, the SB-5120 I replaced it with in 2005 (not because of failure, but as a planned upgrade due to future deployment of Blast!) cost less than *half* what I paid for the SB-4100 (in fact, I bought the SB-5120 and a wireless router and paid less for both than what the SB-4100 originally cost me). More than likely, if you are renting a D3 modem, it would likely be from Motorola (Comcast's largest HSI rental-modem supplier); Motorola is, and has been for years, Comcast's D1.1 modem supplier of choice. (I'm a former Comcast employee at the Silver Spring, MD HSI callcenter, and based on that experience, I have recommended, and have bought, Moto's DOCSIS modems exclusively.)
pandora
Premium
join:2001-06-01
Outland
·ooma
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Comcast

Not here yet

I'm in Danbury Connecticut, and we don't seem to have the new speeds yet. Maybe it'll arrive over the next few days.

Comcast is doing a great job at providing great internet capability to its customers. I'm glad to have moved to Comcast HSI from AT&T DSL a few months ago.
--
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."
plat2on1

join:2002-08-21
Hopewell Junction, NY
clubs:

Re: Not here yet

beginning to think it ain't going to happen, we are getting the shaft once again
pandora
Premium
join:2001-06-01
Outland
·ooma
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Comcast

Re: Not here yet

It is going to happen. I'm not too worried about it. Comcast is probably rolling this out carefully. I'm very impressed that so few seem to report problems with the switch to D3.
--
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."
plat2on1

join:2002-08-21
Hopewell Junction, NY
clubs:

Re: Not here yet

oh its going to happen, but i doubt any time soon. seems like connecticut is dead last to get any kind of upgrades.
smokarz

join:2006-07-24
West Hartford, CT

AT&T....Better Work on FTTH

With Comcast's new speeds, they are putting AT$T further behind in the caves...

1.5Mb DSL is just plain pathetic. They might be able to sell it to grandpas, but for the high school/college kids and young professionals, anything less thna 6Mb is pure shit.
Birolo

join:2005-04-24
Woodstock, GA

Re: AT&T....Better Work on FTTH

Hi,

Well, I am getting this in this area.


swhitney2003
I can't drive 55.
Premium
join:2003-06-13
NH
clubs:
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Re: AT&T....Better Work on FTTH

said by Birolo See Profile :

Hi,

Well, I am getting this in this area.


powerboost.
Birolo

join:2005-04-24
Woodstock, GA

Re: AT&T....Better Work on FTTH

Yes, I know that.

iansltx_

@spcsdns.net

FiOS might lower pricing, but their speeds are still generally better than Comcasts. They could up their 20 Mbps tiers to 30 Mbps though, and the 10 Mbps tier to 15. 50 Mbps down with 20 Mbps up beats 50/10 cable any day of the week, especially if it's 90 bucks. If such a service was offered in my area, I'd pay for it

Pearland_guy2

@twcbs.com

I agree. I've been with AT&T for almost a year and thier speed is extremely low compared to comcast. I registered for the 6 speed elite service and i get about 4M down on speedtest.net.

Even though I have AT&T as my ISP right now, i called comcast and i was offered the BLAST service for 64.95. I couldn't get it lowered (price) because I am stuck with At&t for 1 year! (Contract). The tech is scheduled to comeout this week and install Blast. When Docsis 3.0 is rolled out down here (houston) im definately going to get the 22\5 tier.

Thanks

aaronwt
Premium
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA

1 edit

Re: AT&T....Better Work on FTTH

I hope this forces FIOS to increase their speeds again. I would love for my 50/20 tier(for $90 a month) to get bumped higher when Comcast launches this in the DC area.

CO_Chris
Premium
join:2001-08-28
Broomfield, CO
HA a Pearland GUY SN... HOW funny..
Kearnstd
Elf Wizard
Premium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ
even more important, Verizon and Comcast blow Uverse from the water and dont need to place boxes the size of a refrigerator or two on lawns.
--
[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports

espaeth
Digital Plumber
Premium,MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis 50/5 upgraded this morning

Now seeing the 50/10 speeds.


Rob
In Deo speramus, God Bless the USA
Premium
join:2001-08-25
Kendall, FL
·Comcast

Re: Minneapolis 50/5 upgraded this morning

said by espaeth See Profile :

Now seeing the 50/10 speeds.


That's so sweet.

FicmanS
Premium
join:2005-01-11
Brownsburg, IN
clubs:

Re: Minneapolis 50/5 upgraded this morning

+1 Good lord that would be nice...

jmn1207
Premium
join:2000-07-19
Reston, VA
·Verizon FIOS


1 edit
How did Comcast let you know about the new tiers? I'm assuming just about everyone has a DOCSIS 2.0 modem only. Did you just call and ask? Did they send something through email or snail mail? Did you already have an eligible DOCSIS 3.0 modem that was automatically updated?

The reason I am curious is that I have my own Mot. SB5120 modem and I will need a newer modem before I can enjoy the new speeds. I'd be happy to swing by the Comcast payment center on my way home and pick up a new rental modem if I knew I could get the 22/5 or 50/10 packages.

Edit: And that speed test is so awesome!

espaeth
Digital Plumber
Premium,MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
·voip.ms
·Vitelity VOIP
·Callcentric
·VoiceStick
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·Embarq

Re: Minneapolis 50/5 upgraded this morning

said by jmn1207 See Profile :

How did Comcast let you know about the new tiers?
I actually read about it here first at BBR, but they also mailed out flyers advertising "Faster-est" service with the 50/5 tier.

said by jmn1207 See Profile :

The reason I am curious is that I have my own Mot. SB5120 modem and I will need a newer modem before I can enjoy the new speeds. I'd be happy to swing by the Comcast payment center on my way home and pick up a new rental modem if I knew I could get the 22/5 or 50/10 packages.
Not sure how they'll work it in the other areas, but when I signed up they wouldn't let me pick up the modem at the local Comcast office. I had to schedule an install and the tech brought out the DPC2505 modem. Slightly annoying to have to pay $40 for professional install when all the tech literally did was swap the modem and call in the MAC.

I posted my install details here: »June 2008 - Yet another DOCSIS 3.0 install - Minneapolis MN

jmn1207
Premium
join:2000-07-19
Reston, VA

Re: Minneapolis 50/5 upgraded this morning

Thanks for the info. It sounds like I need to wait until I see a new flyer.

zskyline
Premium
join:2007-01-20
Braintree, MA

3.0 Went Live to a few towns near Boston this AM

Called Comcast. I live 12 mi South of Boston in a FiOS town. The Rep said; "Anyday for 3.0 for you, just not today" She said it did go live to a few towns west of Boston this AM.
bbscript

join:2004-11-09
Fairfield, PA

When for PA

When this week next week never? we still dont even have blast yet.
jacktaw

join:2003-01-03
Derry, NH

Roll back to Performance from Blast

Wonder how many people that have Blast! will be rolling back to the 12/2 plan to save $10/month?

I'm considering it.

-Kevin

Anon123456789

@comcast.net

Internal Doc

Comcast is moving to wideband with the the wide-scale launch of its next-generation fiber-optic network technology, called DOCSIS 3.0 (Data over Cable Service Interface Specification) speeds.The new Comcast High-Speed Internet is redefining the word “fast.” Our new speeds are the fastest available and are up to three times faster than before.

In the next 90 days, Comcast is bringing their next-generation fiber-optic network to more than 10 major markets—including Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C., New Jersey, Philadelphia, Portland, San Jose, Sarasota, Seattle and the Twin Cities. Wideband will allow Comcast to offer among the fastest speeds available today, including the Extreme 50 tier at up to 50 Mbps. It will also provide dramatically increased speeds for existing Internet customers.

As part of the wideband deployment, Comcast will launch two completely new, premium speed tiers to its residential and business class customers. Both services will enhance the online experience for households or businesses simultaneously using several computers or Internet-connected devices by providing super-fast speeds to all online. The two new tiers will also appeal to those who simply want the fastest speeds available in the U.S. today.

See 6 replies to this post

nate1234

join:2008-08-21
Moorestown, NJ
·Comcast


1 edit

DOCSIS 3.0

Wow.. that is a very fast roll out.. i guess they had it all setup, and just kept it on the down low...

I called comcast today, and the rep said the 2nd week of November for southern NJ, which is a big fios market. The tech said that within the next 6 months the Extreme tier will drop 30-50% in price. He said the Ultra Tier will replace the Blast! tier, and the Bandwidth Cap will be upgraded to 500gb+ and then eliminated. He said the only reason for the cap was so that they could more easily roll out DOCSIS 3.0 and initiate the new filtering systems.

Im getting my Blast! service installed on the 25th,
and will upgrade to Ultra as soon as it becomes available,which should be soon!

Anyone have any tips on how to get the most from your Blast! service? I see people with 35-50mbps on Blast! service. I am planning to put the eMTA right next to where the cable comes into my house, and run 75ft CAT6 to my PC's.

Good News!

sansri88
Go digtal you analog laggards
Premium
join:2005-12-17
New York, NY
clubs:
·Comcast

Re: DOCSIS 3.0

HAHA Northern Jersey is getting something before you guys

Sweet stuff to hear though about the price drops and cap situation...hopefully that's true.

I thought South Jersey wasn't a large FiOS area, mainly Northern Jersey.
--
Sriram Satish
Comcast of NJ II sucks. Period.
25 HD channels compared to the average 32 or so.

nate1234

join:2008-08-21
Moorestown, NJ

Re: DOCSIS 3.0

well... SJ has some fios... Medford, Marlton, Mt. Laurel, etc...

sansri88
Go digtal you analog laggards
Premium
join:2005-12-17
New York, NY
clubs:

Re: DOCSIS 3.0

Not as much as northern Jersey I think...where they've hit a lot of the big areas (except Edison and a large chunk of Woodbridge where I live).

nate1234

join:2008-08-21
Moorestown, NJ

Re: DOCSIS 3.0

yea, your right

mike12806
Premium
join:2007-08-28
Milton, MA
I'm sorry but I highly doubt they would go through all this hoopla announcing a 250 gig cap then get rid of it a few months later...
pearland_guy

join:2008-08-16
Pearland, TX

New speeds in Houston, Tx

Anyone know when they will rollout the new speeds in Houston, TX?

who cares

@swbell.net

comcast launches DOCSIS 3.0

2nd half of 2009?

plastic-fantastic-comcastic needs less talk/pre-announcements and a lot more timely roll outs/ update/releases

less talk, more action, huh?

while all the cable companies have their problems,
plastic-fantastic-comcastic is the most expensive and has the worst customer support/problem resolution

sansri88
Go digtal you analog laggards
Premium
join:2005-12-17
New York, NY
clubs:
·Comcast

Re: comcast launches DOCSIS 3.0

2H 2009? Where'd you hear that?

D3 has already launched in MA and Minnesota, it'll be here in Jersey in a few weeks and other areas as well.

Doesn't look like 2H 09 to me...more like 2H 08!
--
Sriram Satish
Comcast of NJ II sucks. Period.
25 HD channels compared to the average 32 or so.

KlanXX
Premium
join:2003-03-19
Hamtramck, MI

$67.95

What will this do for the current customers paying $67.95 for the Blast Tier???

See 7 replies to this post
tooch

join:2007-09-17
Tuckahoe, NY
·Optimum Online


2 edits

Northeast Pennsylvania

I was told from a Comcast Rep that Northeastern Pennsylvania will receive the upgrades in the next month and that modems will need to be manually power-cycled.

Does anyone know though if with these upgraded speeds if they would be more lax in allowing a personal server? I realize it's against the TOS, but I'm talking a server literally just for myself to stream a few TV episodes now and then when I'm away from home. (I came from Optimum Boost and I miss that feature).

spira

@comcast.net

Philly Comcast

In Philadelphia, I'm consistently getting at least 12 MBps download and consistently get 1.6 MBps download on Comcast's standard performance tier. So they've changed something.

jarablue
Always be true to yourself

join:2001-06-11
Worcester, MA

Umm what about Charter?

...Charter?.............Charter?

....char...ter?

..........................

?

Comcast Sucks

@comcast.net

What's the point?

So what good is this new fast speed when they limit their Usenet downloading to only 2 gigs a month(which I can fill up in 30 minutes even today)? What good is it when they throttle bittorrent downloads? Oh, and what good is it with a 250 gig monthly download/upload limit?

Comcast is really good at giving you alot of speed as long as you don't actually want to use it beyond checking your email and "surfing the web".

Their TV service stinks too. When we had Time Warner in Houston, with their expanded basic plan(they called it standard cable), I could get HDTV channels with my QAM capable TV such as ESPN HD etc. Nothing fancy, just the channels I was paying for already. When Comcast took over, they started encrypting those channels and required an extra $10 to get a converter box when there is absolutely no need for it. So I cancelled.

If i wanted another box on top of my TV I can get Satellite, U-verse, or even an antenna all of which have better HD than the compressed crap comcast has.

K3

join:2008-05-06
Kankakee, IL

Re: What's the point?

So your saying that 250GB is only good for surfing, email? Yeah right, I wish people would stop with the cap talk, its old and pointless

TomR2

@earthlink.net

faster? I still have a constipation problem here...

I still have 1300- 2000ms pings at my house, can't nail down the cause. These new speeds would be great if I could get at them! Comcast can't seem to find the problem either.

DanL

@comcast.net

Yeah

I live in Lowell, Ma which is right on the border with NH. Anyway restarted my modem last night and now getting sustained speeds of 1600 KB/s
Forums » Comcast Launches DOCSIS 3.0 In New Englandpage: 1 · 2


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