RSSRCN Boosts Cable Internet Speeds
By Ed Oswald | Published March 17, 2006, 10:29 AM
Cable provider RCN said Friday that it would begin offering ultra-high speed cable Internet access in two of the markets it serves. Called MegaModem Mach 20, the service would provide up to 20Mbps downstream and up to 2Mbps upstream. The move is a bid to stay competitive in light of new offerings from competitors like Verizon.
The first markets to be eligible for the new service will be Falls Church, Va., and Woburn, Mass. The service is twice as fast as cable Internet access from Comcast or Time Warner, and faster than DSL services in the same market.
At these speeds, RCN says, a two-hour movie can be downloaded in under nine minutes, an entire music CD in less than thirty seconds, and a photo album in less than five seconds.
The company said it plans to roll out the higher speeds to the rest of the DC metropolitan area on April 1, and expand the service to Natick and West Roxbury, Mass. The rest of the RCN footprint would receive the speed boost on a staggered basis.
RCN executive vice president and CTO Tim Dunne admitted that Verizon's new FiOS offering is faster, however he argued that you pay more to get less.
"The differentiator is that MegaModem Mach 20 comes bundled with our outstanding Cable TV programming and high-quality telephone service and is priced below what Verizon charges only for its high-speed data service," he said in a statement.
A bundle which combines unlimited local phone calling, full basic cable and the 20 Mbps download speed will be available for $129.99 USD. A premium bundle that includes unlimited local and long distance calling, digital cable with five premium channels, and 20 Mbps Internet will cost $174.99 USD.
In other news, some other ISP, in some other country is increasing their speed.
You only got to look at the news headlines, to realise, that idiot Ed Oswald had written it.
Please someone buy this idiot a round the world airplane ticket, so he can realise how insigificant his stories are to 99% of the population.
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|Here in CT Optimum online has standard 15 down and 2 up. HOWEVER, if you use too much upload speed for too long a time, they cap/throttle your account down to about 20k up. After this happened I called them and complained and was then switched to the TOS dept. They told me that the only upload that they support is email. Anything else that uploads for long periods was a violation of the service. Needless to say, I may just switch to DSL. Its slower but, has no such restriction in place.
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|NYC always the latest one to get upgrade. I am stuck with damn Verizon 3mpbs. Roadrunner is so unstable and has problem accessing many foreign sites.
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|Same here in NY: i got two places-- Queens & Manhattan...both in no man's land. In the first one i'm just blocks from each of: Cablevision OOL, Ver Fios, Liberty & RCN. In the latter I'm blocks from each of RCN & Fios...
I'm rooting for Wimax to get here soon.......
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|I have recently signed up for Verizon FIOS and the total package is cheaper than the basic package in this article ($129.99/mo) - I get faster internet, all the channels in the world + 35 movie channels from the Starz, Encore, Showtime, and Movie Channel Families. Plus this includes service on 4 tv's, a DVR recorder that can play back on any tv, and about 20 HD channels (locals, nationals, Showtime and Starz HD) - I pay $119.99 a month. I guess if I got a home phone it would cost more, but who needs a home phone anymore!?!?
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|You're right re phone: just buy a pots adapter for your cell-- if you even want to go that far.
That Verizon package ain''t all that cheap-- breaks down to $80 + $40 tv & web....but at least it's a lot less that what gouging TimeWarner wants: voip=40,web=50,premium cable=100. Anyhow, they know they got you in NY..
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|Here in Kansas City, if you get the All-in-One plan from Time Warner which includes Phone, Digital Cable, and Roadrunner it's $115 a month I believe. Though I guess point taken about not many people use home phone service anymore.
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|Ya might want to add "per month" to those last two sentences, Ed. ;)
I'd be all over that deal if it came to my city.
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|"a two-hour movie can be downloaded in under nine minutes, an entire music CD in less than thirty seconds"
Marketing this to any group of folks in particular, here, guys?
Are they giving away free eye-patches and peg-legs as well?
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|"Are they giving away free eye-patches and peg-legs as well?"
LOL
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|Arrrrr matey! You'll never find me pirated treasure! ARRR!!!!
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|lol betanews supports them!! jk.
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|LOL - its the eye patch and peg-leg wearers that mostly use it. But now that iTunes is going to start selling movies, a lot more people are going to jump on it as well.
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|I like my Cablevision Boost Service - 30mbps down and 2mbps Up for $55/month
And soon Cablevision will be offering Residential 50mbps Down & Up(Symmterical) for $149.99 a month.
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|Didja know they're actually capping that in ½? They actually have the capability to do a bit over a 100-- but they've said they don't know what use folks would have for that much...
I will likely end up moving there just for that reason alone-- if user reviews pan out: i'll be keeping an eye out for your comments!
And i believe just about anyone will be able to budget for it:
anyway, as far as tv, one can forego packaged cable or satellite, if one has the room to house a couple of giant dishes.
The phone, if absolutely necessary on premises, can be taken care of with a cellular adapter or an Asterisk voip setup that combines free outgoing & free incoming providers
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