Altice USA’s Optimum is the latest provider to trot out a symmetrical 8-gig fiber tier, which Altice said is now available to more than 1.7 million residents and businesses across the company’s fiber footprint.
An Altice rep told Fierce the 8-gig offering is currently live in all markets where multi-gig speeds are available, which is “predominantly” in the New York tri-state area. Consumers can check the Optimum website to see if they’re eligible for the service.
Altice CEO Dennis Mathew in May tipped a new 8-gig tier would launch in the second half of 2023, claiming it would fuel the operator’s average revenue per user (ARPU).
8-gig speeds come after Altice last year released 2-gig and 5-gig tiers across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Altice said “nearly 3 million passings” will have access to 8-gig fiber by year-end, and that number will increase as Altice ramps up its fiber expansion.
“In addition to multi-gig, up to 1 gig speeds are available in more than 90% of the Optimum footprint,” the rep told Fierce.
As for Altice’s fiber expansion plans, the company has stated plans to reach 900,000 new passings by the end of 2023. In May Mathew said Altice remains on track to reach that goal and expects to add more than 300,000 passings in Q2.
The Altice spokesperson added more information on the operator’s multi-gig strategy will be revealed on the Q2 earnings call, which has yet to be announced.
Aside from multi-gig rollouts, Altice is working on upgrading its cable footprint to 1-gig and DOCSIS 3.1. It’s particularly focused on 1-gig upgrades in Louisiana, North Carolina and Texas.
Other 8-gig players
Windstream’s Kinetic has also gotten into the 8-gig game, as a spokesperson recently told Fierce it will make 8-gig speeds available to 400,000 households across its 18-state footprint.
Others that have rolled out 8-gig tiers include C Spire, Google Fiber, Lumen Technologies and TDS Telecom. Google Fiber is particularly stepping up its speeds, as it’s seeking testers for its nascent 20-gig product.