Comcast's Xfinity DOCSIS 3.0 upgrades come with a number of significant perks for upgraded markets, including access to faster 50 Mbps and eventually 105 Mbps tiers, and a significantly beefed-up HD channel count. Comcast had 65% of their markets covered with DOCSIS 3.0 by the end of 2009, and originally hoped to have 100% covered by the end of 2010. Comcast never hit that mark for undisclosed reasons, though they confirmed with us today that roughly 85% of Comcast markets are currently upgraded -- "and we continue to introduce it into new areas."
The pace has been impressive, and even if you're still in a DOCSIS 2.0 market waiting for the upgrade the news isn't all bad. A source at Comcast informs Broadband Reports that the company has a few summer perks lined up for those customers, including speed bumps for all and a price reduction for a few.
Specifically, users on Comcast's 6 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps Performance tier will see their speeds bumped to 8 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps upstream.
Users on Comcast's 8 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps upstream Performance Plus tier will see their speeds bumped to 16 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps upstream. Comcast's "Blast" tier in these markets is going to be eliminated, but customers on this tier will see a price reduction as they're dropped to Performance Plus pricing.
Our source insists these changes should arrive by August, though a Comcast spokesman tells Broadband Reports the company has "nothing to announce at this time."