I Feel the Need for Speed
Posted by: Cliff Edwards on July 12, 2005
Looks like the cable and DSL boys just can’t place nice. Comcast just announced it has begun automatically upgrading its broadband speeds to 6 megabytes per second downstream and 384 kilobytes per second upstream, with all its customers expected to get the upgrade by the end of the summer. Comcast had been promising about 3 Mbps. For another $10 a month, you can up the ante to 8Mbps. According to their website, their current pricing for new customers is $20 for the first six months, jumping to a (steep) $43 a month thereafter.
The cable giant’s moves comes after SBC in June began offering new customers introductory rates of $14.95 for speeds up to 1.5 Mbps, jumping to $26 after. After Verizon last month also began upgraded its speeds, while keeping the price at $30 a month, it seems clear that cable is betting people want speed over cheap service.
I say keep the competition going. We may actually catch up to parts of Europe and Asia and actually get great prices at truly decent speeds.
