Cable operators appear to be slowly backing away from Comcast's PowerBoost technology now that they're offering speeds that make the technology irrelevant.

Comcast's PowerBoost was originally designed to deliver faster speeds for the first part of a large download. Users appreciated the extra speed, while cable operators enjoyed the fact that user speed tests results were significantly faster, something that often mystified even the tech savvy when they suddenly found their speeds faster than advertised.

Now that cable operators are pushing their speeds into the territory of 50, 100 and even 300 Mbps downstream, PowerBoost is slowly being phased out, even though DOCSIS 3.0 modems should still support the technology. Comcast has been deploying speed upgrades this week and users are noting PowerBoost is no longer part of the equation. Cox and Time Warner Cable customers similarly note that they're seeing PowerBoost exit stage left.

Granted PowerBoost is also no longer needed because cable's speed war with DSL is effectively over, and cable won. Many carriers, like AT&T and Verizon, have effectively stopped trying to compete and intend to let cable dominate the fixed line broadband sector -- just as long as those users bundle wireless services. The onus is now on remaining DSL providers (Windstream, Frontier, Fairpoint, CenturyLink) to magically find ways to offer competitive downstream speeds as cable switches their focus to the upstream.