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Comcast Trademark Filing Hints at 1 Gbps Offering
The Donahue Report (via Multichannel News) notes that Comcast filed the trademark for the term "True Gig" on October 20, suggesting that a 1 Gbps offering from the company is likely in the works. Earlier this year company stated they'd offer 1 Gbps and higher services "as soon as possible" as the company looks to quickly deploy the DOCSIS 3.1 standard once it's complete. Comcast's current top offering is a 505 Mbps down, 100 Mbps up fiber/coaxial hybrid tier that runs users around $300 a month, comes with a $1,000 ETF, a $250 activation fee, and a $250 installation fee.
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bigballer
join:2014-09-25

bigballer

Member

when and how much?

better be $70 a month and symmetrical.

no data caps.
bookertdub
join:2012-10-08
San Diego, CA
·Charter

bookertdub

Member

Re: when and how much?

said by bigballer:

better be $70 a month and symmetrical.

no data caps.

Can I have what you're smoking because none of that is going to happen.
bigballer
join:2014-09-25

bigballer

Member

Re: when and how much?

Why the eff can't comcast offer that considering the coax is already IN THE GROUND
HeadSpinning
MNSi Internet
join:2005-05-29
Windsor, ON

HeadSpinning

Member

Re: when and how much?

said by bigballer:

Why the eff can't comcast offer that considering the coax is already IN THE GROUND

You answered your own question. Because it's COAX.
54761437 (banned)
join:2013-01-18
Durham, NC

54761437 (banned) to bigballer

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to bigballer
They're not gonna be able to do gigabit until DOCSIS 3.1. And it won't be symmetrical. And you probably won't ever actually get a gigabit.
bigballer
join:2014-09-25

bigballer

Member

Re: when and how much?

1 gb to the node most likely, which some guy who torrents every tv show is going to eat that up for breakfast.
ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC

ke4pym to 54761437

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to 54761437
It can be. 3.1 will support 10Gbps down and 1Gbps up. So they could easily offer 1/1Gbps.
bigballer
join:2014-09-25

bigballer

Member

Re: when and how much?

10 gb/1 gb per node. You really think comcast is going to let one user eat up all that bandwidth?

Cjaiceman
MVM
join:2004-10-12
Castle Rock, WA

Cjaiceman

MVM

Re: when and how much?

I think we could realistically expect a 1gb/100mbps package.
bigballer
join:2014-09-25

bigballer

Member

Re: when and how much?

for the price of your first born child.

Cjaiceman
MVM
join:2004-10-12
Castle Rock, WA

Cjaiceman

MVM

Re: when and how much?

hahaha, I never said it would be affordable, I just said what I think the speeds will be :P
81037901 (banned)
join:2014-10-27
USA

81037901 (banned) to 54761437

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to 54761437
Many providers aren't even pushing the full gigabit on their own networks and the networks are brand new. it falls under to around 950megs.

MSauk
MSauk
Premium Member
join:2002-01-17
Sandy, UT

MSauk to bookertdub

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to bookertdub
said by bookertdub:

said by bigballer:

better be $70 a month and symmetrical.

no data caps.

Can I have what you're smoking because none of that is going to happen.

I would pay a 100 dollars a month for it at the most.

whfsdude
Premium Member
join:2003-04-05
Washington, DC

whfsdude to bigballer

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to bigballer
said by bigballer:

better be $70 a month and symmetrical.

no data caps.

- If it's using coax, it will not be symmetrical.
- I think you'll likely see caps come back with any 1G offering on coax.

For anything that's fiber, I think caps are pretty unlikely as there isn't a bandwidth constraint of the last mile medium.
bigballer
join:2014-09-25

bigballer

Member

Re: when and how much?

/vent

I think it's just plain ridiculous what Comcast does when it has absolutely no competition.

I don't think I'm being unreasonable in saying that paying $115 for 105/20 is you know.... a bit overpriced and in some regions, subject to a data cap.
ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC

ke4pym to whfsdude

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to whfsdude
said by whfsdude:

said by bigballer:

better be $70 a month and symmetrical.

no data caps.

- If it's using coax, it will not be symmetrical.
- I think you'll likely see caps come back with any 1G offering on coax.

For anything that's fiber, I think caps are pretty unlikely as there isn't a bandwidth constraint of the last mile medium.

Why not? 3.1 will offer 10Gbps down, 1Gbps up. Who says they have to do 10/1 and not 1/1?

alchav
join:2002-05-17
Saint George, UT

alchav to whfsdude

Member

to whfsdude
said by whfsdude:

said by bigballer:

better be $70 a month and symmetrical.

- If it's using coax, it will not be symmetrical.
- I think you'll likely see caps come back with any 1G offering on coax.

Well DOCIS 3.1 is Data Over Cable Service Interface Specs, so no Fiber and forget about symmetrical. The price will probably be over $70.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536 to whfsdude

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to whfsdude
LEGACY TV revenues still need protection despite whatever the speeds are so yes it'll be capped.

JasonOD
@76.16.77.x

JasonOD to bigballer

Anon

to bigballer
This is going to be limited to fiber hybrid or DOCSIS 3.1 markets, so it's going to be a while for any broad based availability. It's possible they could offer it for $99 bundled (matching AT&T's gig pricing in TX markets) in competitive markets, but it's more likely to be closer to $200 so it won't disrupt their 105MB package, with the 505MB plan disappearing altogether.

Sorry, symmetrical speeds won't be in the cards- DOCSIS 3.1 down/up ratios are still 10/1.
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT

BiggA

Premium Member

Re: when and how much?

It'll be D3.1 "hybrid" is a really misleading term. The internet portion of the 505 service is pure fiber, even though the TV is coax. It's just confusing because 99%+ of Comcast's residential customers are on HFC, which is a hybrid of it's own sort.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

tmc8080 to bigballer

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to bigballer
expect a range of tiers from 150 to 1000megabits. Prices will vary from $45 to $299 - and the price cut in half when combined with video (or voice?). So, $150 seems about right.. when combined any video pkg. Alot (better than this pricing/value) depends on the availabilty of any compeittion as well. From google or a telco.. none of which is exactly on a spending spree to deploy a network. Verizon has yet to commit to gigabit thus far at any price. The legacy low income tier might stick around and become 50/25. for $15.
chrismitt
join:2012-07-09
Orange, CA

chrismitt

Member

comcast 1gbps

So if 95015850/100 is 300 +250 install 250 activation what will 1gbps be ? 500 500 install) 500gb activation 2000 ETF?

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt

Premium Member

between FTTH, FTTC and FTTP plus DOCSYS 3+

they have the large field covered over the next few years.
and it will be available sooner (now, a year or two, whenever you need it)

whfsdude
Premium Member
join:2003-04-05
Washington, DC

2 recommendations

whfsdude

Premium Member

Re: between FTTH, FTTC and FTTP plus DOCSYS 3+

said by tshirt:

they have the large field covered over the next few years.
and it will be available sooner (now, a year or two, whenever you need it)

So here's what I think generally makes sense for them going forward.

Existing network: DOCSIS 3.1 -> RFoG (maybe?) -> FTTH.
- Rural (stay DOCSIS 3.1 for awhile) until coax plant becomes a burden.
- Suburban (single dwelling) FTTH
- Cities (single dwelling) FTTH
- Cities (MDU) - RFoG or FTTH depending on agreements with landlord and age of the building.

Greenfield deployments: -> FTTH

Now in theory there is convergence starting to happen on the CMTS side of things. Eg. The CMTS can handle both DOCSIS and fiber customers.

Right now Comcast uses their metro ethernet for fiber customers (Ciena + Juniper I think). I bet that slowly shifts to the CMTS side of things in the future. Eg. The Arris C4 can handle fiber customers.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

1 recommendation

tshirt

Premium Member

Re: between FTTH, FTTC and FTTP plus DOCSYS 3+

I would very much agree, EXCEPT rather than just location being the differentiation, add price/commitment- customer investment/ cost share.
at the right number they can continue to get early adaptors to help pay for rush fiber plant extension and offer pretty much anywhere. regular plant upgade will happen at the planned rate, wave by wave extending out as the local market commits/pays.
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT
·Frontier FiberOp..
Asus RT-AC68

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to whfsdude
RFoG doesn't make any sense for Comcast, except maybe for very rural or greenfield deployments. In most places, not having active equipment on the building is a huge cost savings. If anything, they will just make nodes smaller, but keep the fiber on the poles and away from the houses.

Backfitting RFoG would be a MASSIVE cost for no gain.
8744675
join:2000-10-10
Decatur, GA

8744675

Member

Let's see what the definition of "True" turns out to be...

Just like "unlimited" internet, "True" gigabit will likely be anything but a true 1 gig when the marketing department get ahold of it.
biochemistry
Premium Member
join:2003-05-09
92361

biochemistry

Premium Member

True Gig

True, huh? Didn't know Comcast was going to use active ethernet.

AnonMe
@75.150.99.x

AnonMe

Anon

Re: True Gig

Yeah, unless it's symetrical, then it isn't "True Gig". I can see this marketing name being the laughing stock of Google, Verizon, etc in two years.

Yucca Servic
join:2012-11-27
Rio Rancho, NM

Yucca Servic

Member

Fail point

With the advent of cable video subs leaving who is going to pay up for the Internet bandwidth access. Connections to the main fiber optic cables are not cheap.
Video services are the cash cow for the industry and data services are just extra income.
How much spectrum does a 1 Gig transport or maybe more to support a neighborhood requiring to cover the needs?
I won't keep my fingers crossed to see this be a good thing.
jagged
join:2003-07-01
Boynton Beach, FL

jagged

Member

Re: Fail point

bandwidth is cheap. The same people paying for internet now will pay for it later. Most of what customers pay for Comcast internet is profit for the company because the network has paid for itself already
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

4 edits

2 recommendations

patcat88 to Yucca Servic

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to Yucca Servic
42.88 [qam 256] * (870[typical plant] / 6[channel mhz]) = 6217.6

6.2 gbps for TV, VOD, and Internet. With bitrobbing HDTV and VOD enouigh you can get 1 or 2 gbps downstream for internet.

Probably the 1 Gig internet service will be on 1 GHZ HFC areas only. Most cable boxes can't tune above 870 mhz, so that spectrum is useless for VOD/TV.

42.88 * ((1000-870) / 6) = 929.066667

There is your 1 GBPS DOCSIS 3.1 internet using traditional QAM 256. D3.1 is supposed to use QAM4096 which I think is 62 mbps per 6 mhz, but QAM 4096 probably wont be used for a while due to SNR issues/weak signal at HF on the coax and DSL style signal problems and "conditioning" to get it to work.

62 * ((1000 - 870) / 6) = 1 343.33333

at 1.3 gbps raw at QAM 4096, and paying $225/month (price has to be high enough that only 1 or 2 users max signs up for it on each node), will definitely speed test at 1 gbps on a web speed test tool.
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT

BiggA

Premium Member

Re: Fail point

Yeah, if they intend to do this, they are going to need SDV to economize bandwidth on the video side, along with a lot of node splitting. I'm not sure why they're doing it in the first place...

whfsdude
Premium Member
join:2003-04-05
Washington, DC

whfsdude to Yucca Servic

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to Yucca Servic
said by Yucca Servic:

Connections to the main fiber optic cables are not cheap.

Peering is super cheap compared to plant maintenance, installs, and tech support.

It's why I can buy bandwidth for under $1/mbit in a co-location. A significant amount of internet transit for a large ISP like Comcast is settlement free peering. In that case, it's just port cost on the router and cross-connect ($200-$1,000/mo) cost. IX/peering fabrics can drive the cost up depending on fees.
81037901 (banned)
join:2014-10-27
USA

2 recommendations

81037901 (banned)

Member

Re: Fail point

$450 for a 1gig port to HE thats unlimited IPv6 addresses too. another $250 would get you peered with NetFlix (only need to pay the price of the cross connected in the colo- $250 to Google as well. The last mile is where the money is at and the added cost of the staff.

mackey
Premium Member
join:2007-08-20

1 recommendation

mackey to Yucca Servic

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to Yucca Servic
said by Yucca Servic:

With the advent of cable video subs leaving who is going to pay up for the Internet bandwidth access. Connections to the main fiber optic cables are not cheap.
Video services are the cash cow for the industry and data services are just extra income.

Not only is this wrong, it's completely backwards. Have we forgotten the Netflix deal already? Not only does Comcast NOT pay for those fiber connections, all the big CDNs like Netflix, Amazon, Cloudflare, Limelight, etc etc pay Comcast for them! This means Comcast is getting payed twice for all the data they move. This is the complete opposite of video, where Comcast needs to pay the content providers for each subscriber on top of paying for the satellite farms and fiber connecting them to headends/hubs.

Data is the real cash cow and it's almost entirely profit.

/M

megarock
join:2001-06-28
Fenton, MO

megarock

Member

Umm...

Shouldn't it be called True Screw because that's what they give their customers.
Kuro
join:2014-10-01

Kuro

Member

Data caps

While I assume data caps will be a thing with this there is no way they can keep it at the 300 GB its at, that would be hit in about 40 minutes.
mikesco8
join:2006-02-17
Southwick, MA

mikesco8

Member

Re: Data caps

Currently you would not find many sites that would allow you to download from them at anything close to this speed. The only ones this speed would currently benefit are those with many users such as a business. Perhaps there will be applications developed that will take advantage of this, but for residential service I would rather see affordable 50-100 Mbps service with no caps than this.
floydb1982
join:2004-08-25
Kent, WA

floydb1982

Member

505Mbps cost is a big joke

What is Comcast thinking that folks like me that work at Walmart have a money tree in the yard to shell out $1,500 activation and installation fees. There is just no way I can shell out that kind of money on my income at all. Go luck Comcast getting anybody to pay that kind of money. the 1 Gbps and higher services will be a big huge write off and then the prices of TV and lower speed internet will shoot to the moon. You just sit back and wait it will happen.