Mediacom tops 50,000 gigabit broadband subscribers, sets its sights on 10G

Mediacom Communications now has more than 50,000 combined residential and business customers subscribing to its 1 Gigabit service offerings. The fifth-largest U.S. cable operator, Mediacom started to systematically launch gigabit internet services in 2017 as part of its three-year, $1 billion capital investment strategy. By the end of that same year, Mediacom had become the first major U.S. cable company to launch 1 Gig internet across its national network.

While 1 Gig services have become almost table stakes with large deployments by Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and Charter Communications, privately-held Mediacom brought the faster speeds to smaller markets primarily in the Midwest and Southeast. Mediacom provides triple-play broadband, phone and video services to nearly 1.4 million households and businesses across 22 states.

“The growing popularity of gigabit internet in our markets is proof positive that our fiber-rich network has become a true economic and social engine for the small cities and towns we serve across America,” said John Pascarelli, Mediacom’s executive vice president of operations, in a statement.

RELATED: SCTE-ISBE CEO Dzuban says 10G will be center stage at Cable-Tec Expo

With the deployment of 1 Gbps speeds across 80% of the U.S., the cable industry is ramping up to 10G speeds by using a combination of HFC, Wi-Fi, DOCSIS 4.0, and fiber-to-the premise technologies. 

The cable industry first announced its 10G plans at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The 10G access network movement is already underway in lab trials, and field trials are slated to begin next year. On the silicon side, Intel has announced it would support 10-gigabit-ready technology from the network infrastructure to developing the silicon for the home gateways.

RELATED: Will 10G be a long and winding road for cable? Depends

While there's no firm road map for when 10G will be deployed by cable operators, Mediacom is conducting 10G field trials next year.

“Our rapid deployment of 1 Gig internet demonstrated Mediacom’s ability to deliver ultra-fast speeds in the communities we serve more quickly and economically than other providers,” said Pascarelli. “The scalability of our fiber-rich network is perfectly situated to harness the incredible power and promise of 10G.”