While Comcast, AT&T and Charter Communications have recently introduced ads that take jabs at each other or mock recent merger activity, Time Warner Cable is taking a different tack with a set of new spots that tout recent upgrades and the introduction of new services and apps.

While not calling out the effort in the ads by name, the new spots tie into TWC Maxx, the MSO’s all-digital upgrade initiative that features a larger VOD library, an “enhanced” HD-DVR with six tuners, and faster Internet speeds. Others talk up the MSO’s expanding metro WiFi network, in-home WiFi capabilities, Phone 2 Go app, and its authenticated TWC TV apps for connected devices.

TWC, which will report Q3 results on Thursday (October 29) and is in the process of being acquired by Charter, said the following spots began airing this week:

Google Fiber has committed to bring its mix of gigabit broadband and TV services to San Antonio, and an official announcement could emerge later today, according to several local reports citing unnamed city officials. Radio station WOAI noted that Google had recently posted an ad that seeks a city manager for Google Fiber in San Antonio. 

Update: Google Fiber confirmed Wednesday that it will be coming to San  Antonio, noting that it will be “the largest Fiber city to date,” according to this blog post from Mark Strama, Head of Google Fiber, Texas.

“Soon, we’ll enter the design phase of building our fiber network in San Antonio,” he added. “We’ll work closely with city leaders over the next several months to plan the layout of over 4,000 miles of fiber-optic cables—enough to stretch to Canada and back—across the metro area. This is no small task, and it will take some time, but we can’t wait to get started.”

Google Fiber has also set up a Web site that will track its progress in San  Antonio. 

Google Fiber's entry there will amp up competition with area incumbents AT&T and Time Warner Cable, which initiated its “TWC Maxx” upgrade in San Antonio in February. AT&T has also identified San Antonio for “GigaPower,” its 1-Gig, fiber-based platform.  

San Antonio was one  34 possible expansion cities in nine metro that Google Fiber was exploring back in February 2014. San Antonio did not make the cut when Google Fiber announced plans in January 2015 to expand to 18 cities in four metro areas. However, San Antonio approved a real estate deal with Google Fiber in March that appeared to show that a future deployment was a distinct possibility. 

Google Fiber has also been making noise in Tempe, Ariz., as the city council recently voted its approval for the ISP to enter the market, setting up the potential for more competition with CenturyLink and Cox Communications, which is already in the midst of a plan to deploy gigabit services across its entire service footprint.  

Phoenix (including Scottsdale and Tempe) was also on Google Fiber’s original list of potential expansion sites, but the company has yet to confirm that it will build there.

“Tempe has been great to work with as we’ve explored bringing Google Fiber to the city, and this Video Services License is an important next step for our progress in the area,” a Google Fiber spokesperson said, in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to work with Tempe and the rest of the Valley as we consider bringing superfast Internet to metro Phoenix.”

Google Fiber has already launched or will soon service in Kansas City; Provo, Utah; and Austin, Texas. Google Fiber has deployment plans underway in Salt Lake City; Nashville, Tenn.; Atlanta; Charlotte; and Raleigh-Durham.

“Potential” Google Fiber cities include Portland, Ore.; San Jose; and Phoenix.

Time Warner Cable, still months away from closing on its $78.7 billion merger with Charter Communications, continues to rack up strong results, dramatically reducing basic video subscriber losses and reporting its first positive customer relationship growth since 2008.

The cable giant lost about 45,000 basic video customers in the quarter, a big improvement over the 152,000 it shed in the same period last year. High-speed data additions of 172,000 (best Q2 since 2008) and 252,000 (best Q2 ever) additional phone customers helped drive overall customer relationships to 14.8 million, an increase of 66,000.

“We delivered very strong operational results in the second quarter, providing yet another clear indication that our plan is working,” TWC chairman and CEO Rob Marcus said in a statement. “We achieved record Q2 subscriber results across nearly every category, setting us up for accelerating financial performance as we look forward to the next phase of our plan. We intend to use the time between the signing and closing of the Charter deal to further strengthen our operations.”

Revenue increased 3.5% to $5.93 billion and adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization declined 1.2% to $2 billion, driven by an increase in capital expenditures tied to its TWC Maxx initiative, increased programming costs and increased pension expense. The company said excluding a $27 million pension expense AOIBDA would have been flat.

TWC Maxx, including “all digital” conversion and Internet speeds of up to 300 Mbps, was completed in Austin in mid-April, and is underway in Kansas City, Dallas, Raleigh, San Antonio, Charlotte and Hawaii and will begin in San Diego in 2015. The company has said it has accelerated the deployment of TWC Maxx in Wilmington and Greensboro, N.C., in 2015.  In the first six months of 2015, TWC deployed nearly 5.6 million new set-top boxes, digital adapters and advanced modems in customers’ homes.

Programming costs rose 11% in the quarter to $1.5 billion, driven by higher content costs at SportsNet LA, a regional sports network carrying the Los Angeles Dodgers’ baseball games and other sports programming.

Charter agreed to purchase Time Warner Cable in May in a deal valued at $78.7 billion. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, pending regulatory approval. 

Google Fiber’s build out in Raleigh, N.C., is gearing up now that the ISP/pay TV provider has identified nine initial locations for its “fiber huts,” The News & Observerreported (hat tip: DSL Reports).

Those huts, each 28 feet long and nine feet tall, will supply the backbone of a network that will deliver a mix of gigabit broadband and pay TV services, the paper noted, citing Mike Basham, Raleigh’s broadband manager.

Per its typical game plan in other cities, Google Fiber will build and deploy services using its demand-based model. Google Fiber has already identified several other cities in the area that are being targeted for service -- Carrboro,  Chapel Hill, Durham, Morrisville, Cary, and Garner. Google Fiber plans to deploy more than 5,700 miles of fiber and install 26 fiber huts in the area, the paper said.

Google Fiber will be tangling with AT&T, which has been deploying its fiber-based “GigaPower” platform in the region, and with Time Warner Cable, which began its ‘TWC Maxx’ upgrades in Raleigh back in March.

Google Fiber has deployed service in Kansas City; Provo, Utah; and Austin, Texas. In January, it announced plans to expand to 18 new cities across four metro areas in the Southeast U.S. -- Atlanta, Ga.; Charlotte, N.C.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

AT&T said it has launched its 1-Gig, fiber-based “GigaPower” service to portions of two more cities in North Carolina – Durham and Greensboro -- moves that will amp up broadband competition with incumbent cable MSO Time Warner Cable.

The launch of AT&T GigaPower in those markets stems from a North Carolina Next Generation Network (NCNGN) initiative comprised of six cities, four universities, and local businesses. AT&T has also made GigaPower available to other cities and towns in the state, including Apex, Cary, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Morrisville, and Winston-Salem.

While TWC, which is ramping up speeds through its own “TWC Maxx” initiative, is the incumbent MSO in the market, Google Fiber is also preparing to build a fiber-based 1-Gig that will be offered in portions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, N.C., as part of an 18-city expansion announced in January. 

In Durham and Greensboro, AT&T will sell a 1 Gbps standalone broadband service starting for $70 per month to customers who opt for a “Premier” tier that requires them to participate in the telco’s Internet Preferences targeted Web advertising initiative. GigaPower also comes with a monthly data policy that caps usage at 1-terabyte before charging $10 for each additional bucket of 50 Gigabytes, with a maximum monthly overage charge of $30. 

In the new N.C. GigaPower markets, AT&T is also selling broadband-TV bundles that start at $120 per month, and a triple-play bundle that starts at $150 per month.

AT&T's GigaPower pricing tends to skew higher in markets that have not been targeted by Google Fiber. 

AT&T has launched GigaPower in 15 markets so far, including Atlanta; Austin, Dallas, Houston and Ft. Worth, Texas; Chicago; Cupertino, Calif.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Kansas City. AT&T also has plans underway to debut it in parts of Jacksonville, Fla.; St. Louis; and San Antonio, Texas.  

As a commitment tied to its pending acquisition of DirecTV, AT&T has also said it would expand its GigaPower network to an additional 2 million customer locations that are over and above what the company announced in 2014. 

Time Warner Cable said it has added Greensboro and Wilmington, N.C., to the list of markets that are getting the “TWC Maxx” treatment – all-digital upgrades that will pave the way to faster Internet speeds, a larger VOD library and a souped-up HD-DVR platform.

Greensboro and Wilmington is also being targeted by AT&T and its 1-Gig-capable, fiber-based GigaPower platform.

On the broadband end, TWC said the upgrades in those markets will allow it to raise the downstream speeds to a trio of tiers  without raising the price: Standard (from 15 Mbps to 50 Mbps); Extreme (from 30 Mbps to 200 Mbps); and Ultimate (100 Mbps to 300 Mbps.).

Subs in those markets will also have access to an Enhanced DVR equipped with 1 terabyte of storage that can record up to six shows at once.  TWC’s VOD library, now at 20,000 titles, will rise to 30,000 by the end of the year.

TWC, which is in the process of being acquired by Charter Communications, said customer satisfaction is on the upswing in “Maxx” areas.

Similar upgrades are underway or have been completed in  Los Angeles; New York; Austin/Central Texas; Kansas City; Dallas; San Antonio; San Diego; Hawaii and Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C. 

TWC said about 45% of its Internet customers nationwide will have access to TWC Maxx-enabled  Internet speeds by the end of this year, and more than 50% of video subscribers will have access to the new all-digital video platform.

Over the next month, customers in San Antonio, San Diego/Desert Cities, and Wilmington will get word from TWC about the next phase of the project, and the first steps of the all-digital upgrade will start in Greensboro in mid-September, TWC said.

AT&T has launched its fiber-based “GigaPower” service to parts of Charlotte, N.C., a move that puts some speed pressure on incumbent cable operator, Time Warner Cable, and comes ahead of Google Fiber’s planned deployment in that market.

To qualified homes in Charlotte, AT&T is offering a standalone 1 Gbps service starting at $70 per month (when customers agree to participate in AT&T’s Internet Preferences, the telco’s targeted Web advertising program), essentially matching up with the price Google Fiber has been selling its standalone 1-Gig service. AT&T has been selling GigaPower's standalone 1-Gig service for more in other markets.

But unlike Google Fiber, AT&T has been applying a monthly data consumption policy to GigaPower that caps usage at 1-terabyte before charging $10 for each additional bucket of 50 Gigabytes, with a maximum monthly overage charge of $30.

AT&T is also pairing 1-Gig with TV starting at $120 per month, and a triple-play package starting at $150 per month.

TWC, meanwhile, is implementing an all-digital upgrade in Charlotte that is resulting in free residential Internet speed upgrades that, for example, will see its Ultimate tier, jump from 50 Mbps (downstream) to 300 Mbps. TWC expects to complete that “TWC Maxx” upgrade in Charlotte this summer.

In addition to Charlotte, AT&T has launched GigaPower  in parts of Atlanta; Austin, Dallas, Houston, and Ft. Worth, Texas; Chicago; Cupertino,, Calif.; Nashville, Tenn.; Kansas City; and Raleigh-Durham and Winston-Salem, N.C. AT&T has plans to launch it in parts of Greensboro, Jacksonville, Miami, St. Louis and San Antonio.

AT&T has also committed to expand GigaPower network to an additional 2 million customer locations as part of its proposed merger with DirecTV.

AT&T said it has invested more than $1.6 billion in its wireless and wired networks in North Carolina between 2012 and 2014.

Elsewhere in the AT&T U-verse universe, the telco announced last week that it has introduced a 75 Mbps option in several more markets -- Chicago; Cincinnati; Columbus/Tupelo/West Point/Hattiesburg, Miss.; Panama City and Gainesville, Fla.; Little Rock; Monroe, La./El Dorado, Ark.; Tulsa; and Wilmington, N.C. AT&T said that option is now available in parts of more than 100 cities.

AT&T has been selling that tier, which is paired with an 8 Mbps upstream, for $74.95 per month as a stand-alone service. The telco is enabling that speed in certain portions of those cities following upgrades to a new 17 MHz signal that provides twice the capacity of the 8.5 MHz signal previously available.

Time Warner Cable is on target to upgrade at least half of its more than 10 million residential video subs to an all-digital platform by the end of 2015, the MSO said in this blog post about its progress.

TWC, following a path blazed by MSOs such as Comcast, is trying to accelerate the upgrade by using Digital Transport Adapters, simple one-way boxes that convert digital video signals to analog. TWC said it has deployed nearly 2.4 million new DTAs for far in 2015. TWC is shipping those devices at no cost and providing them free to customers for the first year (as of January 2015, the price on TWC DTAs is $2.75 per month). 

Those all-digital upgrades factor into the MSO’s larger TWC Maxx initiative that will use reclaimed analog spectrum to offer more digital channels, expand its video-on-demand library (30,000 titles by end of year), and enable broadband speed upgrades, including a new 300 Mbps (downstream) DOCSIS 3.0 tier. TWC is also introducing an “enhanced DVR” outfitted with six tuners and 1 terabyte of storage in its upgraded markets.

TWC has completed the all-digital conversion in Los Angeles; New York; Austin/Central Texas; Kansas City; and Dallas; and expects to wrap it up this summer in Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C; and in San Antonio by the end of the year. TWC Maxx work will be underway in San Diego this year, with a plan to complete it in “early 2016.”

TWC is in the process of being acquired by Charter Communications, which completed its all-digital transition last year ahead of its expected broad deployment of a new cloud-based interface that will run on all classes of set-top boxes. 

Grande Communications will be first out of the chute with a 1-Gig residential broadband service in San Antonio, announcing that it will launch the service in select areas of the city on March 3 for $64.99 per month.

Grande, which announced the launch date on the same day the FCC voted in rules that will reclassify broadband under Title II, is launching 1-Gig ahead of AT&T, which has added San Antonio to the list of cities that will get GigaPower, the telco’s fiber-based, Gigabit platform, but has not yet launched it in that market. Google Fiber, which has been selling a standalone 1-Gig service for $70 per month, is still considering expanding into San Antonio, but did not include the city on its recently announced list of expansion markets.

Time Warner Cable, San Antonio’s incumbent MSO, recently kicked off “TWC Maxx” upgrades there that will bump its Ultimate tier from 50 Mbps (downstream) to 300 Mbps while also boosting other broadband tiers at no additional cost.

Grande said it will initially offer its 1 Gbps service, called Power 1000, to two parts of San Antonio – Alamo Heights and Terrell Hills.

Also on March 3, Grande is launching a set of faster broadband plans in all its markets -- 200 Mbps ($44.99), 300 Mbps ($54.99) and 400 Mbps, which will sell for $64.99 per month in areas where the ISP has not yet introduced 1-Gig service.  Grande launched Power 1000 in parts of Austin, Texas, about a year ago. 

Other Grande plans offer speeds of 15 Mbps ($29.99) and 50 Mbps ($34.99).

Grande's broadband tiers can also be bundled with its TV and phone services.

“Grande’s deployment of 1G service in San Antonio along with the new Internet speeds are part of our customer care commitment and continuing effort to offer the fastest Internet speeds and loaded bundles at the best value,” said Matt Rohre, senior vice president of operations and general manager for Grande, in  a statement. 

Time Warner Cable said it has begun to notify customers in San Antonio of coming “TWC Maxx” upgrades that will clear the way for faster broadband speeds and the introduction of a new “enhanced” HD-DVR.

The upgrade will goose the speed offered by TWC’s high-speed Internet tiers at no additional cost – Standard will rise from 15 Mbps to 50 Mbps; Extreme will jump from 30 Mbps to 200 Mbps; and customers on TWC's Ultimate tier will go from 50 Mbps down to 300 Mbps.

On the competitive front, AT&T added San Antonio to the list of cities that will get GigaPower, the telco’s 1-Gig-capable fiber platform, last summer, but has not yet launched 1-Gig services there. Google Fiber is still considering expanding its 1-Gig platform to San Antonio, but did not include the city on its recently announced list of expansion markets.

TWC said the first phase of the project, which includes the reclamation of analog spectrum, will bring the faster speeds to about 750,000 subs in the first phase of the rollout through the end of March, with completion in San Antonio expected by the end of July.

Areas that are part of the first phase of the TWC Maxx upgrade include Balcones Heights, China Grove, Far North East side,  Kirby, Pecan Valley, Shavano Park, Somerset, and Windcrest, among others.

In addition to San Antonio, TWC Maxx upgrades are underway or complete in Dallas, Kansas City, Los Angeles, and New York. Other TWC markets on tap this year include San Diego, Hawaii, Charlotte and Raleigh.

TWC has also begun to deploy WiFi hotspots in small business locations that will be accessible by the MSO’s broadband subs as well as to cable modem customers that get service from other members of the Cable WiFi roaming alliance – Cablevision Systems, Comcast, Cox Communications and Bright House Network. TWC plans to bring WiFi to outdoor locations toward the end of the first quarter.

Taking aim at Google Fiber and incumbent MSOs such as Time Warner Cable and Comcast, AT&T announced Monday that it has launched its fiber-fed U-verse with "GigaPower" platform to pockets of the Kansas City area.

Offering a mix of stand-alone 1-Gig broadband alongside TV and voice bundles, AT&T said it is launching GigaPower in portions of Leawood, Lenexa, Olathe, and Overland Park, Kan., and “in surrounding communities located throughout the metro area.” AT&T said it plans to expand GigaPower to Independence, Mo., and Shawnee, Kan.

Here’s how AT&T will price and package GigaPower in the Kansas City area early on: 

-A standalone 1-Gig broadband service for $70 per month along with an waiver of equipment, installation and activiation fees, and a three-year price guarantee. Customers who take the “Premier” GigaPower offer also agree to participate in AT&T Internet Preferences, the telco’s targeted Web advertising program.

-A 1-Gig/TV bundle that starts at $120 per month, that includes free HBO and access to the programmer’s TV Everywhere service, HBO GO, for 36 months.

-A triple-play package (1-Gig, TV and voice) starting at $150 per month.

Save for the GigaPower triple-play package, the others offered in the K.C. area by AT&T practically mirror Google Fiber’s there   -- $70 per month for stand-alone 1-Gig broadband, and a 1-Gig/TV package that starts at $120 per month. Google Fiber also offers a free Internet service that delivers 5 Mbps down by 1 Mbps upstream.

Time Warner Cable, meanwhile, kicked off its “TWC Maxx” upgrades in Kansas City in January, paving the way for an enhanced DVR packing six tuners and 1 terabyte of storage, and a new 300 Mbps (downstream) DOCSIS 3.0 service that replaces its former 100 Mbps offering in the market.

AT&T’s pricing and packaging for GigaPower in the Kansas City area appears to be a bit sweeter than, for example, the packages it’s starting to sell in parts of North Carolina , which offer $120 per month for the 1-Gig standalone service, a double-play (1-Gig/TV) starting at $150 per month, and a triple-play that starts at $180 per month. AT&T’s 1-Gig broadband service has historically been capped at 1 terabyte per month, after which customers are charged $10 for each additional 50 gigabytes consumed. Google Fiber currently offers an uncapped broadband service.

Update: An AT&T spokesperson confirmed that the same data usage policy will apply for the GigaPower deployment in the Kansas City area.

John Sondag, president of AT&T Missouri, said the initial launch into the Kansas City market comes after the telco had spent more than a year putting in fiber and electronics it needs to offer the service, while also determining which portions of the market had the most demand for the GigaPower service.

While AT&T isn’t being specific about which neighborhoods in the markets already identified for GigaPower will have access to the fiber-based service early on, Sondag said Monday's launch is “just the start,” as the telco will expand and roll it out to other areas in the market.

“We are going to invest where customers are demanding these services,” he said, estimating that AT&T has invested $825 million in Kansas City over the past four years. “We’re willing to make the necessary investments to get these customers, and to keep them.”

With Kansas City coming online, AT&T currently estimates that it has GigaPower available to “hundreds of thousands consumers and small businesses” in markets that also include Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth, Texas; and Raleigh-Durham and Winston-Salem, N.C. AT&T has announced plans to deploy GigaPower in parts of 11 additional markets – Atlanta; Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C.; Chicago; Cupertino, Calif.; Houston; Jacksonville, Fla.; Miami; Nashville, Tenn.; St. Louis and San Antonio.

Overall, AT&T is weighing GigaPower rollouts in up to 100 cities across 25 markets, and has also pledged to expand its fiber-based platform to an additional 2 million customer locations as part of its proposed acquisition of DirecTV.

Time Warner Cable said it has kicked off “TWC Maxx” all-digital upgrades in the Dallas Metroplex that will pave the way for faster broadband speeds, more channels and VOD, and the operator’s new, souped-up HD-DVR.

TWC said it is also expanding the rollout of its metro WiFi network in Dallas, starting in small business locations, with outdoor deployments to kick off toward the end of the first quarter.

On the broadband end, TWC Maxx will boost the capabilities of the MSO’s Standard residential tier from 15 Mbps to 50 Mbps downstream; raise Extreme from  30 Mbps to as much as 200 Mbps; and bump subs of the Ultimate offering from 100 Mbps to 300 Mbps, at no extra charge. Regarding broadband competition, AT&T has begun to offer its fiber-based, 1-Gig-capable “GigaPower”  to pockets of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

TWC will also make available an Arris-made Enhanced DVR with six tuners and a 1-terabyte drive, enough to record up to 50 hours of HD video. 

TWC is also using one-way Digital Transport Adapters (DTAs) in support of the all-digital conversion. In Dallas, TWC is offering existing customers DTAs at no charge through April 21, 2016, so long as they put in their orders by August 19, 2015. DTAs are simple channel zappers that convert digital signals to analog.

TWC. which is in the process of being acquired by Comcast, said the first phase of the all-digital initiative  will reach the following areas: Addison, Allen, Arlington, Bedford, Carrollton, Cedar Hill, Cockrell Hill, Colleyville, Commerce, Coppell, Dallas, DeSoto, Double Oak, Euless, Farmers Branch, Farmersville, Flower Mound, Frisco, Garland, Grand Prairie, Grapevine, Greenville, Highland Village, Hutchins, Irving, Kennedale, Lancaster, Lewisville, McKinney, Mesquite, Murphy, Pantego, Plano, Princeton, Richardson, Rockwall, Rowlett, Sachse, St. Paul, Sunnyvale, The Colony and Wylie.

TWC Maxx upgrades are underway or complete in Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York, and San Antonio. Other TWC markets on tap this year include San Diego, Hawaii, Charlotte and Raleigh.

Time Warner Cable said it has started an all-digital upgrade in the Kansas City area that will clear out room for faster broadband speeds and pave the way for an “enhanced” multi-room DVR that will help the MSO do battle with Google Fiber, which is matching its 1-Gig broadband offering with a pay-TV service.

Time Warner Cable has been using the “TWC Maxx” upgrades to introduce a new 300 Mbps (downstream) DOCSIS 3.0 service that replaces its former 50 Mbps or 100 Mbps offerings (as is the case in Kansas City) for no additional cost, an all-digital TV lineup, a bigger VOD library, and an enhanced DVR from Arris that sports six tuners and 1 terabyte of storage and runs a cloud-based version of the operator’s VOD portal.

In Kansas City, TWC said it has begun to alert subs of the work, estimating that it will begin to upgrade all customers in the region by this spring.

The operator completed TWC Maxx rollouts in Los Angeles and New York last November, and expects to have upgrades underway in Dallas and San Antonio “in the next few months.”  Other TWC markets on tap for TWC Maxx upgrades this year include San Diego, Hawaii, Charlotte and Raleigh.

TWC, which is in the process of being acquired by Comcast, said its goal to roll out TWC Maxx to all its markets through 2016 “remains on track.”

Time Warner Cable said it has completed the rollout of its “TWC Maxx” initiative in Los Angeles in New York, all-digital upgrades that include faster broadband speeds and access to a new, souped-up whole home HD-DVR platform.

The upgrades are highlighted by a new 300 Mbps (downstream) DOCSIS 3.0 service that replaces its former 50 Mbps offering, an all-digital TV lineup and an expanded VOD library packed with about 19,000 titles. Additionally, TWC customers on the MSO’s Standard tier, will see downstream speeds rise from 15 Mbps, to 50 Mbps, while Extreme rises from 30 Mbps to 200 Mbps.

TWC’s new  “enhanced” DVR made by Arris offered in Los Angeles and NYC features six tuners and 1 Terabyte of storage (enough for about 150 hours of HD video), and a cloud-based version of the operator’s VOD portal. 

TWC, which is in the process of merging with Comcast, said the TWC Maxx enhancements are now available to more than 7 million homes in those markets.  In NYC, TWC matches up with Verizon FiOS and RCN, and tangles with AT&T in Los Angeles. TWC competes with DirecTV and Dish Network in both areas.

TWC announced the TWC Maxx initiative in January 2014. In August, the MSO announced that it was extending the program to Austin this year (broadband speeds have already been upgraded there, with the all-digital transition currently underway), with seven more markets on tap for the TWC Maxx treatment in 2015: Kansas City, Dallas, San Antonio, San Diego, Hawaii, Charlotte and Raleigh.

“Today marks an important milestone in Time Warner Cable’s commitment to provide our customers with best-in-class products and service,” said Time Warner Cable chairman and CEO Robert Marcus, in a release. “Every customer in our two largest markets now has access to the superfast Internet and new TV experience promised by TWC Maxx.  Faster speeds are also available to every customer in the Austin, Texas, market, and we’ve committed to reinvent the service experience in seven additional markets in 2015.”

Moving ahead with more video-focused elements of its “TWC Maxx” upgrades, Time Warner Cable has begun to roll out an “enhanced” DVR in Los Angeles and New York City that features six tuners and 1 Terabyte of storage – enough to hold about 150 hours of HD video.

In its multi-room set-up, TWC’s new offering lets customers watch, pause, rewind and fast-forward DVR-recorded shows on up to four other HD set-top boxes in the home.

Update: TWC confirmed that the DVR model being rolled out is the Arris DCX 3600 and is using a cloud-based navigation system for its VOD portal. The hybrid QAM/RF box is equipped with a DOCSIS 3.0 modem. Retail pricing is $15.99 per month for the single room product, and $19.99 for the whole-home set-up, though those prices exclude the set-top box rental fee. Service bundles with the new enhanced DVR in NYC and L.A. is the same as it with TWC's legacy DVR product.

TWC’s new offering will help the operator keep pace with video competitors that have already rolled out next-gen DVR offerings. Among those rivals, Verizon’s new premium-level Quantum TV set-up ties together 12 tuners and 2 TB of storage, while Dish Network’s Hopper HD-DVR with the Super Joey can record up to eight shows at once. DirecTV’s Genie whole-home DVR can currently record up to five shows at once.

Comcast, which is in the process of acquiring TWC, has been testing  a configuration of its X1 video platform that can record 15 shows at once. Comcast is doing this by linking together the storage and tuning capabilities of three X1 HD-DVRs and sharing recorded content between them using Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) technology.

Comcast’s new Cloud DVR product is currently configured for 500 Gigabytes of storage and the ability to record up to five shows at once, and recently added out-of-home access to programming that is recorded in the cloud. Following a recent upgrade, Cablevision Systems’ network-based Multi-Room DVR is now capable of recording 15 shows at the same time.  

TWC has said that its next-generation video platform will use the Reference Design Kit (RDK), a preintegrated software stack for IP-capable boxes that is being managed by Comcast, TWC and Liberty Global, but it was not immedietly known if the product being rolled out this week in NYC and L.A. uses the RDK. TWC announced in April that it had developed its first RDK-based box-- an IP-only HD client box – with Humax.

Time Warner Cable’s new DVR is one piece of its TWC Maxx upgrade initiative. The all-digital effort also features broadband speed upgrades, including a new 300 Mbps (downstream) DOCSIS 3.0 service that replaces its former 50 Mbps offering and an expanded VOD library.

In addition to NYC and L.A., TWC has said that  seven more markets are in line to get the TWC Maxx treatment in 2015: Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas; Hawaii; Kansas City, Mo.; Raleigh, N.C.; San Antonio, Texas, and San Diego.

“DVR customers are passionate about watching what they want, when they want. Our new Enhanced DVR transforms our customers’ TV experience by allowing them to record all their favorite shows at once and store a vast library of programming,” said Peter Stern, TWC’s EVP, chief product, people and strategy officer, in a statement. “Enhanced DVR is just the latest highlight for our customers in the nation’s two largest cities. By the end of this year, customers throughout New York City and Los Angeles will have access to Internet speeds up to 300 Mbps; all-digital TV with the most HD channels of any local provider; and a graphically rich programming guide with up to 39,000 hours of On Demand content choices — all backed with rock-solid reliability.”

Time Warner Cable has completed an upgrade in the speed-crazy town of Austin, Texas, that is highlighted by a new 300 Mbps (downstream) DOCSIS 3.0 service that replaces its former 50 Mbps offering, Ryan Kelly, TWC’s integrated communications manager, noted Tuesday in this blog post.

TWC announced in May that more than 100,000 subscribers in Austin, or about 40% of its customers in the area, had access a new batch of broadband speed increases, including the top-end 300-Meg tier that is paired with an upstream that maxes out at 20 Mbps.

Among the “TWC Maxx” upgrades, which include an all-digital migration, an expanded VOD library, and the introduction of a new six-tuner HD-DVR, the operator’s Standard plan jumps from 15 Mbps down to 50 Mbps for no extra charge. Some customers will need a DOCSIS 3.0 modem to get the speed upgrades. Customers who lease modems from the MSO and need a new one to get the faster speeds can get one for no additional charge. TWC has set up a Web page dedicated to its modem swap program.

TWC is upgrading its plant in Austin as AT&T continues a limited rollout of its 1-Gig-capable, fiber-fed “U-verse With GigaPower” service, and Grande Communications expands the reach of a 1-Gig service that sells for $64.99 per month. Google Fiber is also in the process of building out a network in parts of Austin that will support 1-Gig speeds and a pay-TV service.

The FCC has been pressuring ISPs to deliver faster speeds and then deliver on the speeds it promises. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has signaled that speed is a factor in determining whether broadband is being deployed in a timely manner.

TWC, which is in the process of being acquired by Comcast, has TWC Maxx upgrades underway in New York City and Los Angeles. TWC announced recently that  seven more markets are in line to get the TWC Maxx treatment in 2015: Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas; Hawaii; Kansas City, Mo.;  Raleigh, N.C.; San Antonio, Texas, and San Diego.

Kelly added in the blog post that upgrades in New York and L.A. are more than halfway done, and the MSO is on track to reach a goal of completing network upgrades that reach more than 3 million customers by the end of 2014.

Notably, a video embedded with Kelly’s blog post that explores upgrade activity at a hub in Queens, N.Y., shows a cable modem termination system from Casa Systems, a vendor that has been gaining ground on CMTS market leaders Arris and Cisco Systems.