Competition is at work here. With more than 2 players in these markets, Cox is feeling the heat. This move is good for them and the consumer.
Cox Communications reports that its residential gigabit Internet service G1GABLAST is now available in Phoenix, Omaha, Las Vegas, and Orange County, CA.
Cox will be battling gigabit competition in Phoenix from CenturyLink and potentially Google Fiber, and from CenturyLink in Omaha and Las Vegas.
“We started in Phoenix last fall, but we have not stopped there. We’re adding new building projects every month,” notes Cox President Pat Esser at INTX 2015, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s Internet and Television Expo in Chicago.
The company reports it’s also deploying new broadband access network infrastructure in Arkansas, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, and Virginia to bring G1GABLAST to these markets later this summer. Cox’s residential gigabit service is expected to be available in all of its markets by the end of 2016 (see “Cox outlines gigabit broadband plans”).
In a video interview shot this week at INTX in Chicago with Lightwave‘s sister site, Broadband Technology Report, Cox CTO Kevin Hart told BTR Managing Editor Ron Hendrickson that Cox is using RF over glass (RFoG) fiber to the home (FTTH) technology in at least some of these roll outs. (The video is currently being edited and is not yet available for viewing.)
In 2014, the company says it doubled the speeds of its High Speed Internet Preferred and High Speed Internet Premier packages. Earlier this year, its High Speed Internet Essential and High Speed Internet Starter were increased, and the company plans to increase its High Speed Internet Ultimate package later this year.
For more information on FTTx equipment and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.