Altice to bring 1 Gig to 250 Suddenlink communities, expects more builds in 2017

Altice plans to bring 1 Gbps service to 250 communities in the Suddenlink territories, furthering the work that Suddenlink began, prior to its acquisition by the European cable operator last May, to reach over 60 percent of its Internet subscribers.

Throughout 2017, Altice plans to continue rolling out GigaSpeed 1 Gbps service, rounding out the nearly quarter-billion dollar investment it has made in this program.

Complementing the 1 Gbps expansion effort, Altice said it plans to enable 70 percent of its existing Internet customers to access speeds of 400 Mbps or higher.

Altice USA co-President and CFO Charles Stewart said in a release that it is "investing more than $4 billion per year in our networks around the world."

A key focus for the company has been on markets like Texas. In September, Altice, through its Suddenlink subsidiary, said it would bring 1 Gbps service to four Texas communities: 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 in August 2014.

While there has been no shortage of service providers either rolling out or announcing plans to deliver 1 Gbps service, Suddenlink is taking a different delivery path than AT&T (NYSE: T) and Google Fiber (NASDAQ: GOOG). Instead of cherry picking particular neighborhoods, Altice is making its 1 Gbps service available to all neighborhoods and households passed by the Suddenlink network in each market where that service is launched.

Altice is also taking steps to upgrade other existing services, an effort that has raised the standard speed offerings of up to 50, 100, and 200 Mbps, plus 1 Gbps. It will also offer the 1 Gbps service via its HFC network to local businesses as well as its customized, multi-Gigabit services.

But upping the Internet speeds is just one part of Altice's efforts to enhance the customer experience. The service provider plans to introduce home gateway devices that can support TV, Internet and phone, which have been popular in other areas Altice currently serves.

Stewart said the company would share more details about the gateway devices and other planned 2016 investments and innovations in the coming months.

For more:
- see the release

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