Comcast Set To Light Up World’s First DOCSIS 4.0 ‘10G’ Deployment in Colorado Springs Next Week

By Daniel Frankel
( NextTV )
published

Colorado customers will be the first offered cable company’s new ‘X-Class Internet’ tiers, which include symmetrical 300 Mbps, 500 Mbps, 1Gbps and 2 Gbps speeds

Comcast DOCSIS 4.0 tech
Comcast's modern DOCSIS 4.0 network has transitioned much of the work once done by expensive, power-hungry proprietary network appliances into virtualized tasks performed in server rooms. (Image credit: Comcast)

Cable’s “10G” era will officially begin next week in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where Comcast will begin deploying its new DOCSIS 4.0-enabled network services. 

Colorado Springs Xfinity Internet users will have access to new service tiers with symmetrical speeds of 300 Mbps, 500 Mbps, 1 Gbps and 2 Gbps. The new products will be branded under a new name, “X-Class Internet.” (Comcast had been using the X-Class moniker to market its own smart TVs, but is now using the Xumo brand for its TV-related initiatives.)

The deployment is only a start for Comcast, which aims to connect 40 million users to symmetrical multi-gig broadband services within the next several years using technology based on the latest iteration of “Full Duplex DOCSIS” cable-network technology. (Comcast published a cool document time-lining the evolution of DOCSIS tech, which we included below.)

Also read: Comcast Just Used Its Virtualized 10G Network to Test a New Targeted FTTP Scheme

Comcast has also invested hundreds of millions of dollars to “virtualize” its broadband network, moving the work of bulky, power-hungry proprietary appliances, such as cable modem termination systems, to server farms. The cable company said its new network tech will one day provide customers with symmetrical (upstream and downstream) speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second. This would be separate from the pricey 10 Gbps “Gigabit Pro” fiber-to-the-home service Comcast already offers. 

Comcast also said it hopes to extend its DOCSIS 4.0 rollout to Atlanta and Philadelphia by the end of the year.

“The ubiquity of our network, which is already accessible to tens of millions of homes, provides us with an incredible opportunity to bring multi-gigabit upload and download speeds to communities across the country with the scale and efficiency that no other provider can replicate,” Comcast Cable president and CEO Dave Watson said in a statement.

 “Our connectivity experience, powered by the Xfinity 10G Network, will allow us to deliver speeds up to 10 Gbps over our traditional network to virtually all our customers, plus even better reliability, lower latency and the best in-home Wi-Fi coverage,” Watson added. “We’re entering the next phase of this industry leadership with DOCSIS 4.0 technology to introduce X-Class Internet products that will revolutionize the way our customers get online today and many years into the future.” 

Evolution of DOCSIS

(Image credit: Comcast)
Daniel Frankel
Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!