NTS, Ting enhance 1 Gbps reach in Texas and Virginia

While AT&T (NYSE: T) and Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) continue to grab headlines with their 1 and 2 Gbps plans, alternative providers NTS and Tucows' Ting are also hot on the FTTH expansion trail, announcing that they are bringing 1 Gbps service to more areas of Texas and Virginia.

Following a recent rollout of 1 Gbps service in Lubbock, Texas, NTS is now making the service available via its Gigabit Fiber Network to local businesses in Midland Texas.

Similar to other rollouts, eligible business customers will be able to access speeds ranging from 75 Mbps up to 1 Gbps.

NTS said its Gigabit Fiber Network offers several different Internet packages, including varying levels of Internet speeds with symmetrical, asymmetrical and dedicated speeds available through fiber connections delivered directly to the building.

Over in Charlottesville, Va., Ting recently began offering residential customers its 1 Gbps service.

Ting's movement into the 1 Gbps FTTH space has been nothing short of swift. The service provider laid the foundation for its foray into the burgeoning FTTH space when it acquired InternetWorks, a local ISP that was in the process of building a gigabit-capable network in Charlottesville in December.

To date, the network now reaches nearly 3,000 homes and businesses, with a plan to cover the neighborhoods of North Downtown, Martha Jefferson, Locust Grove and Belmont in 2015 and the entire city in 2016.

Eligible customers can purchase the 1 Gbps service for just $89 a month.

Elliot Noss, CEO of Tucows and Ting, said in a release that unlike AT&T and Comcast, it has been able to announce its 1 Gbps rollout only a week after going live with its service.

"AT&T and Comcast have managed to get press releases out years before their Gigabit services have come to market," Noss said in a release. Ours comes over a week after launch. We clearly need to pick it up a notch."

For more:
- see the NTS release
- see the Ting release

Special report: Gigabit Wars: The best prices for 1 Gbps service from ILECs, MSOs and municipal providers

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