Suddenlink extends 1 Gig service to four additional Texas cities

Suddenlink Communications is deepening its 1 Gbps buildout, extending service to an additional four cities in Texas: Lubbock, Shallowater, Wolfforth and Post. The cable provider's expansion is being made possible through its $250 million investment in network upgrades via its Operation GigaSpeed program, launched last August.

In July, Suddenlink began offering 1 Gbps services in four markets: Bryan-College Station, Texas; Nixa, Mo.; and Greenville and Rocky Mount, N.C.

Suddenlink, which is being purchased by France's Altice Group for $9.1 billion, offers a standalone 1 Gbps service for $109 a month in some markets. Customers can chose to purchase either a Wi-Fi-enabled modem for $10 a month or a standalone modem for $5 per month.

Leveraging its existing HFC plant, Suddenlink is delivering the 1 Gbps speeds using DOCSIS 3.0 standard. According to a Multichannel News report, the service provider has also been an early adopter of Hitron Technologies' DOCSIS 3.0-powered modem that can deliver 1 Gbps downstream speeds.

Dave Gilles, Suddenlink regional SVP of operations, said in a statement that what sets it apart from competitors like AT&T (NYSE: T) and Google Fiber (NASDAQ: GOOG) is that they are not cherry-picking certain areas to deliver their 1 Gbps service.

"In sharp contrast to companies like Google and AT&T, which are offering a Gigabit service only to a few neighborhoods in primarily urban markets, we're making our service available in all of the neighborhoods and households we are able to serve throughout the Lubbock area," Gilles said.

But 1 Gbps service is just part of Suddenlink's broadband playbook.

Similar to other regional cable operators like Grande Communications, Suddenlink is also upgrading customers on a number of its key existing DOCSIS-based tiers. Customers who subscribe to the 75 Mbps tier will be bumped to 100 Mbps, while current 100 Mbps customers will get 200 Mbps.

For more:
- Multichannel News has this article

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