Cablevision also doubles bandwidth of free Wi-Fi offering
Power internet users almost always seem to crave higher download speeds. The faster things can be downloaded from the internet, the faster the content can be enjoyed by consumers. Internet speeds in the U.S. are commonly much slower than speeds offered in other countries, but some service providers are working to significantly increase the speeds available to consumers in America.
Cablevision has announced that it will be debuting a new super-fast internet access plan for its customers in some areas. The service will offer enough bandwidth to download a full-length HD movie in less than 10 minutes. The service will offer peak download speeds of up to 101 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 15Mbps.
Cablevision told Reuters that the goal of new service was to allow it to better compete with the fast offerings from Verizon's FiOS service. The downside to such a fast internet connection is that the plan is expensive. Reuters reports that the 101 Mbps offering will cost nearly $100 per month. However, that price makes it cheaper than Comcast's 50 Mbps offering that costs $139 per month and fast offerings from other providers.
Reuters reports that Cablevision plans to roll the service out to its customers starting May 11. The new plan will replace the company's current top offering featuring downloads speeds of 15 Mbps for about $50 per month.
Todd Mitchell, an analyst from Kaufman Brothers, told Reuters, "Right now the real demand for 50 to 100 megabits is pretty limited. But over the next two to three years, the number of video applications we all use will grow exponentially so it will become a necessary level of service."
A bigger question in many minds is will consumers be willing or able to pay $100 per month for internet access during one of the worst economic periods in many years. Other analysts say that cable operators are walking a fine line with super-fast internet offerings. Cable companies risk damaging their core video offerings by providing customers with too much bandwidth according to some analysts.
Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett said, "The cable operators are trying to walk a fine line. They don't want to provide so much bandwidth that they foster the means to bypass their core service."
Cablevision also announced that it would be doubling the speed of its wireless Internet connection to 3Mbps using Wi-Fi. The company offers this service for free to consumers in certain locations.
DailyTech - Cablevision Offers 101 Mbps Internet Access Plan
