Mediacom just got done bumping their standard speeds for most users pushing their 8 Mbps tier to 12 Mbps, and their 10 Mbps tier to 15 Mbps. Things should get faster shortly: the company told those who tuned in to their third quarter earnings conference call that they'd be launching DOCSIS 3.0 service in eleven new markets starting in December. Mediacom isn't saying which markets those will be, but they did say that nine of the markets would see 50 Mbps speeds, while two of them would be seeing 100 Mbps speeds (no word on prices or upstream speeds). Mediacom hopes to have about 25% of their network upgraded to the faster speeds by the end of the year, and has an additional 25% of their network "DOCSIS 3.0 headend-capable" for expanded launches in 2010.

Cable operator Mediacom dropped the news earlier this month during their second quarter conference call that they'd be raising customer speeds in September. True to their word, the operator tells the Des Moines Register that as of tomorrow, they're on schedule to bump the company's 8Mbps tier to 12Mbps downstream with 1Mbps upstream. The company's 10Mbps tier will be boosted to 15Mbps downstream and 1Mbps upstream. According to Mediacom, this is the fourth time they've bumped speeds since 2005, though the 15-20 Mbps maximum speeds fall short of the top speeds being provided by cable operators who've been upgrading their infrastructure to DOCSIS 3.0 technology. The 1Mbps upstream for a higher end product offering is also starting to show its age.

Cable operator Mediacom today issued their second quarter earnings, which note the company made $34.4 million, up from $20.9 million one year earlier, while revenue grew 4 percent to $364.5 million from $349.5 million. While the company lost 15,000 basic video subscribers on the quarter, Mediacom added 8,000 digital cable subscribers, 6,000 broadband subscribers and 8,000 VoIP subscribers. Of particular interest to Mediacom customers was the announcement that starting in September, users will see speed hikes. The company's 8Mbps tier will be bumped to 12Mbps downstream with 1Mbps upstream. The company's 10Mbps tier will be boosted to 15Mbps downstream and 1Mbps upstream.

Several users write in to note that Cable operator Mediacom has increased the ppload speed on the "flagship" 8Mbps Mediacom Online package from 512kps to 768kps. It's not much, but most users will take whatever they can get on the upstream side of the aisle. The slight bump is confirmed by a Mediacom employee in a thread in our Mediacom forum. It looks like Mediacom has also implemented Powerboost on the upstream side of user connections. Powerboost is a popular technology that significantly ramps up the downstream and/or upstream speed of a user's connection for the first few moments of a major download or upload.

Back in 2007 we noted how Mediacom was taking a "back seat" approach to installing DOCSIS 3.0 technology, given the carrier wasn't facing significant competitive pressure. Apparently the time has come to begin the upgrade, Mediacom's John Pascarelli telling analysts and investors on the company's earnings conference call that the company would be bringing DOCSIS 3.0 to half the homes they serve by the end of 2009. Pascarelli says the carrier is testing 100Mbps connectivity in a few employee homes, but wouldn't say if they plan to offer a 100Mbps tier, or which markets will be the first to get the upgrade.

I told you last week that Mediacom employees were saying that the company's new 20Mbps tier would be available by the end of June, and the company today made it official via press release. Mediacom is bumping the speed of their Mediacom Online Max tier from 15Mbps/1Mbps to 20Mbps/2Mbps at no additional cost. The tier currently costs customers $60/month if bundled with TV service, or $75/month without. On a conference call with investors and analysts last week, Mediacom stated the upgrade would be available to 98% of their customers by June's end.

According to a post by a Mediacom employee in our forums, the company will begin upgrading their 15Mbps "MAX" tier to 20Mbps downstream, 2Mbps upstream, for free, by the end of June. Rumors of 20Mbps first popped up last December, but the company wouldn't officially comment. They officially announced the tier this morning during the earnings conference call, saying the tier would be in place to 98% of subscribers by 6/30. I'm not sure how to console you two-percenters, other than to remind you that you could be satellite broadband customers (did that help?).

Local Illinois websites report that Mediacom has been giving customers seven free HD channels (ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, Discovery Theater HD, TNT HD, TBS HD, CNN HD and Fox Sports Midwest HD) under the name HD Family Basic. The seven channels will be incorporated into the company's Family Basic plan at no cost. Users in our Mediacom forum have generally been unimpressed with the company's HD lineup when compared to other providers.

As an aside, we're starting to see some unconfirmed rumbling in our forums that a 20Mbps Mediacom tier should pop up next month for some, something we're trying to confirm with the provider. To temper enthusiasm some, recall the company recently informed investors they'd be taking a "back seat" when it comes to deploying DOCSIS 3.0.

Mediacom subscribers seem to be having problems with outages that the company doesn’t know how to handle. The Columbia Tribune reports on one user who has had continuous service interruptions with phone and Internet going out 1-6 times per day every day for the last six weeks.