Comcast Launches First DOCSIS 3.1 Network

 
Comcast has officially fired up its first DOCSIS 3.1 network. While that might look like a small tick of an upgrade on paper for those who currently connect to the ISP's DOCSIS 3.0 networks—which could theoretically hit gigabit speeds anyway—it's the first major step in what could ultimately be more widespread gigabit Internet connections for homes and businesses.

Yes, some Comcast users can already buy gigabit service from Comcast, but the process typically involves a lot of tedious groundwork—installing expensive fiber-optic cables around a particular area, which most ISPs don't appear all that interested in doing unless someone else (like Google Fiber) tries to jump into a big market with super-cheap and super-fast connectivity. With DOCSIS 3.1, a person could theoretically get gigabit speeds by using the existing networking infrastructure; Comcast can just upgrade what's already there as opposed to laying new pipes, for lack of a better way to phrase it.

"We will continue testing over the coming months, as we get ready to start delivering DOCSIS 3.1-powered service to our customers. Before the end of 2016, we will begin offering a new gigabit speed choice that works over the existing connections in our customers' homes in several parts of the country," reads Comcast's announcement.

"The beauty of DOCSIS 3.1 is that it is backwards compatible, so no digging up streets or backyards. This technology, when combined with the extensive upgrades we have already completed on our advanced Hybrid Fiber-Coaxial network, will provide more gigabit choices for our customers."

Based on statements from Comcast executives at the start of 2015, it appears as if the company had expected to roll out DOCSIS 3.1 to a more widespread audience this year. While it did ultimately get DOCSIS 3.1 out, period, that larger rollout appears as if it's getting bumped back to 2016—the timeline Comcast floated a few months after its January statement.

Comcast has been dogfooding DOCSIS 3.1 by testing it out in some employees' homes this year, but its Philadelphia debut of DOCSIS 3.1 is the company's first public showing of the new standard. The ISP will continue its testing to other locations in Pennsylvania, as well as locations in Northern California and Atlanta, Georgia.

"Over the coming months, we will activate more test homes with this state of the art DOCSIS 3.1 technology so that we can observe how it performs in multiple real-world environments and make whatever minor modifications necessary to get it ready for deployment to our customers," reads Comcast's statement.

We're most curious about what Comcast's gigabit service might cost, however. A DOCSIS 3.1 network is all well and good, but not if the gigabit connection could cost an average person north of a hundred dollars per month—a bit beyond what most people are willing to pay for their Internet plan, we wager.