The broadband speed wars are on, and while US offerings don’t compare to those of our overseas brethren, a quick review of recent news at Broadband Reports shows that we’re getting a little closer.
- AT&T U-verse – will offer an “elite” speed tier at 10Mbps in 2008
- Charter – will bump its highest speed tier to 16Mbps as early as November
- Verizon –
rumored to becurrently testing a 20Mbps speed tier in New York City - Time Warner – currently offering a 20Mbps tier in New York City
- Comcast – currently offering a 16Mbps tier in competitive markets
Overall these findings show that operators are willing to invest money to increase speeds where they need competitive advantage. It’s an arms race, and my bet is that operators will start differentiating more on new applications and services as high-speed tiers become table stakes for recruiting subscribers. We’re seeing some of this already in the areas of whole-home DVR, home monitoring and casual gaming, but it’s been primarily on the telecom side rather than through the cable operators. I don’t think that situation will last.
Rumored?
I have the FIOS 20Mbps connection and it rocks. Believe it or not I’ve actually exceeded 20Mbps from easynews.com.
Ben- You are the poster child for the bandwidth revolution.
According to http://www22.verizon.com/content/consumerfios/packages+and+prices/packages+and+prices.htm Verizon has 30 MB already, not cheap but available. I can’t wait to get this for my business. T1 is $400 a month from Verizon at 1.5/1.5 or I can get FIOS at 30/5 for that same $400, hmm…
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