Comcast Introduces Wideband Internet Technology

In yesterdays Keynote, Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast introduced a new technology called Wideband. Comcast will evolve its network from broadband to wideband with the deployment of DOCSIS 3.0, setting a new standard for super-charging Comcast customers’ Internet experience with speeds of 160 Mbps or more in the future.

The technology is more than 25 times as fast as the operator’s current standard broadband package and, Roberts said, it will let cable jump to the broadband lead ahead of phone companies in the next few years.

A movie download that might take six hours on today’s DSL connection, for example, will take only four minutes with wideband, Roberts said.

"We’ll have DOCSIS 3.0 rolled out in front of millions of … homes by the end of this year," Roberts said. "No competitor will have this much speed in so many homes."

"Today when we deliver broadband, we’re using spectrum on our cable system that’s equivalent to … 12 to 16 megabits/second," Roberts added. "Using DOCSIS 3.0, [the network can achieve] 100 megabits per second over the next year."

That increased speed will likely be of assistance when Comcast increases its on-demand content. The cable provider plans to offer over 1,000 HD selections – up from 250 – by the end of 2008, Roberts said. "What satellite says they’ll offer pales in comparison."

Note: This blog entry was originally posted on thewindowsblog.net. View original post