Less than three months after closing its $9.1 billion purchase of Suddenlink Communications, Altice N.V. has recommitted to the mid-sized operator’s ultra-high speed data upgrade – dubbed Operation GigaSpeed – promising that customers in at least 250 communities will have access to 1 Gigabit-per-second service by year end.

Suddenlink first announced Operation GigaSpeed in 2014, promising to invest about $250 million to bring 1-Gbps service to 90% of its footprint by 2017. Deployments began in 2015.

The European telecom giant – which also is in the middle of the approval process for its $17.7 billion purchase of Cablevision Systems – is reaffirming its commitment to the Suddenlink program, Altice USA co-president and chief financial officer Charles Stewart said.

“It [Operation GigaSpeed] fits perfectly with Altice’s ownership philosophy,” Stewart said in an interview. “Investment in infrastructure is at the heart of our business model.”

Stewart said Altice has earmarked more than $4 billion for infrastructure investment throughout its worldwide footprint, including Suddenlink.

Operation GigaSpeed was a pet project of Suddenlink founder and former CEO Jerry Kent – who is remaining an adviser to Altice – to bring big-city data speeds to rural America. Altice said that as the 1-Gbps service is being made available, more than 70% of Suddenlink Internet customers should have access to speeds of 400 Megabits per second or greater. Additional GigaSpeed deployments are expected in 2017, rounding out the nearly quarter-billion dollar total investment supporting the program.

The focus on speed could make its way to Altice’s other U.S. outlet – Cablevision Systems – if that deal is approved by regulators. Altice has said it expects to close the deal in the first half of the year, and is confident it will make that deadline.

“For Cablevision, it’s too early to be precise,” Stewart said. “But I think it’s reasonable to expect that we are going to focus on network  investment and speed.”

Part of the controversy around the Cablevision deal has been Altice’s claim it could cut $900 million in costs out of the business over time. While an increased network  investment would seem to contradict that goal, Stewart said they go hand in hand, adding that any reduction in costs for repairs and maintenance would result in increased efficiencies could mean more money for network improvements.

The need for speed is evident in its Suddenlink markets. While Altice rolls out GigaSpeed, it also plans to upgrade other services, resulting in standard offerings of up to 50, 100, and 200 Mbps, plus 1 Gigabit. Local business owners are also provided access to the Gigabit service, along with customized, multi-Gigabit services that the company has offered for years.

Altice also has plans to introduce a home gateway device in Suddenlink markets that enables all services -- TV, Internet, and phone. No timeframe has been set as to when that product will see daylight.

Suddenlink Communications announced last week on its official blog that the MSO has rolled out its residential 1-Gig service to three more areas: Georgetown, Texas; Lake Charles, La.; and St. Joseph, Mo..

Suddenlink, which is being acquired by Altice Group,introduced its 1-Gig (downstream) offering, paired with a 50 Mbps upstream, in July using DOCSIS 3.0 technology. The standalone offering runs about $109 per month, but comes at a reduced price when paired with other Suddenlink services.

All of Suddenlink’s residential broadband services come with usage-based policies that charge extra for additional buckets of data if customers exceed their monthly allotments.  The top data plan posted online is fitted with a monthly soft cap of 550 gigabytes.

With the latest trio of markets included, here’s an updated list of areas where Suddenlink has rolled out its residential gigabit offering:

-Arkansas: Jonesboro, Russellville.

-Arizona: Flagstaff.

-Louisiana: Bossier City and Lake Charles.

-Missouri: Nixa, Ozark, and St. Joseph.

-North Carolina: Greenville and Rocky Mount

-Oklahoma: Enid and Stillwater

-Texas: Abilene, Andrews, Big Spring, Bryan, College Station, Huntsville, Georgetown, Kingwood, Lubbock, Lufkin, Midland, Terrell, Tyler and Victoria.

Suddenlink, which added 21,600 high-speed Intenet subs in Q3 2015, unveiled Operation GigaSpeed in August 2014, announcing that it intended to raise its top downstream high-speed Internet speed to 1 Gbps in 90% of its footprint by 2017. 

Suddenlink Communicatins has expanded its 1 Gbps residential broadband service to four more areas of Texas --  Lubbock, Shallowater, Wolfforth and Post – while also juicing up the speeds of two existing tiers for no added cost.

As part of the upgrade, customers on the existing 75 Mbps (downstream) tier will jump to 100 Mbps, and those on the 100 Mbps offering will get 200 Mbps, Suddenlink said. 

The 1-Gig launches, part of the MSO’s Operation GigaSpeed initiative, follow initial debuts in systems serving Bryan-College Station, Texas; Nixa, Mo.; and Greenville and Rocky Mount, N.C.  

Suddenlink, which is being acquired by Altice Group for $9.1 billion, has been selling the standalone 1-Gig service, paired with an upstream that maxes out at 50 Mbps, for $109 per month in some markets, and rent a WiFi-enabled modem for $10 per month or a stand-alone modem for $5 per month.

Suddenlink is powering its 1-Gig residential service with DOCSIS 3.0, and also happens to be an early taker for the Hitron CDA3-35, a model that can bond up to 32 downstream channels and up to eight upstream channels. On the downstream end, that’s enough to pump out max speeds of 1.2 Gbps in North American systems that use 6MHz-sized DOCSIS channels.

“Today’s announcement is the next step in Operation GigaSpeed, the company-wide plan we announced last August,” said Suddenlink regional SVP of operations Dave Gilles, in a statement. “In sharp contrast to companies like Google and AT&T, which are offering a Gigabit service only to a few neighborhoods in primarily urban markets, we’re making our service available in all of the neighborhoods and households we are able to serve throughout the Lubbock area.”

 “This faster, high-speed Internet offering is a tremendous tool for our businesses, residents and education communities,” added Lubbock Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Eddie McBride. “The enhanced ability to connect and communicate with the world will help local businesses grow and will be attractive to new businesses. We're fortunate to have a partner like Suddenlink for many reasons, and the company’s commitment to offer this service here in the Hub City and the South Plains is just the latest.”

Moving forward with its previously announced Operation GigaSpeed initiative, Suddenlink Communications said Thursday that it has lit up a 1 Gbps (downstream) residential broadband service in an initial batch of markets – Bryan-College Station, Texas; Nixa, Mo.; and Greenville and Rocky Mount, N.C.

Tied in, residential high-speed Internet customers in those markets who are on two other speed tiers will get a free speed boost – those on the 75 Mbps (downstream) service will now get 100 Mbps, and subs who take the 100-Meg tier will be upped to 200 Mbps. The MSOs standard residential downstream speeds in this initial batch of markets will be up to 50 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 200 Mbps and the new 1-Gig offering.

Suddenlink did not announce pricing on the new 1-Gig service, but an official noted that it would be “competitively priced.” With discounts available through new customer promotional offers service bundles, residential Internet services from Suddenlink now range from $35 to around $100 per month.

According to pricing data for Suddenlink’s system in Bryan, Texas, obtained by Multichannel News, the standalone 1-Gig service, which is paired with an upstream that maxes out at 50 Mbps, sells for about $109 per month (customers can rent a WiFi-enabled modem for $10 per month or a stand-alone modem for $5 per month). A source familiar with the service indicated that 1-Gig would sell for a lower monthly price when bundled with other Suddenlink services.

Like other Suddenlink residential broadband services, the new 1-Gig tier will have a monthly data plan whereby customers can purchase buckets of additional data if they exceed their monthly allotment. Information about it is posted here, noting that the MSO’s  “monthly data plans have proven to be more than sufficient for substantially all customers.” 

Suddenlink confirmed that it is currently using DOCSIS 3.0 technology to deliver the new offering. “With equipment upgrades and channel bonding, we are able to deliver more than 1 Gig to the modem,” a Suddenlink official said via email.

State-of-the-art DOCSIS 3.0 modem chips from suppliers such as Intel and Broadcom can bond up to 32 downstream channels – enough to support downstream bursts of 1.2 Gbps in North American systems that use 6MHz-wide channels, and up to 1.6 Gbps on EuroDOCSIS systems that utilize 8MHz-wide channels. DOCSIS 3.1, an emerging platform specified by CableLabs, is gunning for multi-gigabit speeds. Some cable operators are expected to start some small, initial DOCSIS 3.1 deployments by late this year.

Suddenlink’s technical approach will enable it to offer 1-Gig service on a broad basis.

“In contrast to companies like Google and AT&T, which are generally offering a Gigabit service only to a few neighborhoods in primarily urban markets, Suddenlink is making its service available to all households passed by the Suddenlink network in the listed communities and will do the same in other markets where the company plans to launch the service,” the MSO said.

Suddenlink unveiled Operation GigaSpeed in August 2014, announcing that it intended to raise its top downstream high-speed Internet speed to 1 Gbps in 90% of its footprint by 2017. The initiative encompasses network upgrades, including all-digital migrations that free up valuable bandwidth for things like DOCSIS channel bonding, and the replacing of remaining deployed DOCSIS 2.0 modems with D3.0 CPE.

Rovi said it has scored a deal to supply guides that run on high-definition Digital Transport Adapters (DTAs) that will be rolled out by Suddenlink Communications.

Suddenlink wouldn’t outline its current DTA deployment activities or say which vendors will supply those DTAs, but those one-way devices, which convert digital signals to analog for older TV and have been playing a significant role in the cable industry’s various analog spectrum reclamation efforts. All-digital upgrades are an element of “Operation GigaSpeed,” an initiative announced last year by Suddenlink that will enable the operator to raise high-end broadband speeds to 1 Gbps in 90% of its footprint by 2017.

Suddenlink has rolled out a next-gen video platform powered by the TiVo platform. TiVo has also developed a guide for DTAs, including models made by Evolution Digital.

“Our customers have relied on Rovi guides to inform and enhance their entertainment viewing experience,” said Suddenlink SVP and chief programming officer Kathy Payne, in a statement. “Suddenlink looks forward to improving the user experience in subscriber homes with Rovi DTA Guides.”

The Suddenlink deal marks more progress for Rovi’s DTA guide, which supports elements such as parental controls, on now/on next banners, and the ability to set language options. Last year, it announced a master agreement for the guide with the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC), and said Armstrong was the first U.S.-based MSO to deploy a Rovi guide tailored for DTAs. Cablevision Argentina has also rolled it out. Rovi has previously announced htat it has ported DTA guide to models made by Evolution Digital, Arris and Pace.