In context, the speed increases come as Comcast looks to better compete with offerings from fiber competitors.
Comcast is improving internet speeds for more than 20 million Xfinity broadband subscribers, doubling the download rate on one of its lower-tier plans and raising it by 33% on two others. Overall, it is increasing speeds on five service tiers across its areas.
Users on Comcast’s Performance/Connect More plan (names vary by location) will notice the greatest increase, with their download speed doubling from 100 Mbps to 200 Mbps. The base Performance Starter/Connect plan’s speeds are increasing by 50%, from 50 Mbps to 75 Mbps. The Performance Pro/Fast and Blast/Superfast plans will both see a 33% rise, with the former increasing from 300 Mbps to 400 Mbps and the latter increasing from 600 Mbps to 800 Mbps. Meanwhile, the Extreme Pro/Gigabit plan will increase from 900 Mbps to a true 1 Gbps speed.
Comcast Cable’s Bill Connors, President of Xfinity, ascribed the move to Comcast’s goal to fulfill bandwidth demands from in-home connected devices. “The number of connected devices in Xfinity households has increased 12X since 2018, and the demand for fast, dependable, and secure Internet will continue to grow,” he added in a statement.
Comcast already increased internet speeds for subscribers in its northeast territories in March, raising the download rate for its Extreme Pro plan from 800 Mbps to 900 Mbps and the download rate for its Blast and Performance Pro plans by 50% to 600 Mbps and 300 Mbps, respectively. In November 2021, it upgraded its similar tiers in the Greater Chicago and Memphis service areas.
The operator unveiled a 2 Gbps service tier in three markets last month and announced plans to provide a faster symmetrical multi-gig offering in 2023.
In context, the speed boosts come as Comcast seeks to better compete with fibre competitors’ offers. Many fibre competitors currently provide multi-gig service tiers and have raised the baseline speeds for their entry packages. For instance, AT&T last year increased the speed on its entry-level fibre plan to 300 Mbps. Elsewhere, Consolidated Communications’ lowest-tier Fidium Fiber plan provides speeds of 250 Mbps while new fibre player Brightspeed’s base tier is a symmetrical 200 Mbps service.