Cox Communications has continued the roll out of its faster DOCSIS 3.0-enabed data service, which is called Ultimate Internet, with the addition of Las Vegas and southern Nevada this week.
As in previous deployments, Ultimate Internet features downstream speeds of 50 Mbps with 5 Mbps on the upstream. Cox, the nation’s third-largest MSO, previously launched DOCSIS 3.0 in Rhode Island; northern Virginia; Lafayette Parish, La.; Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.; and in Fredericksburg and Fairfax counties in Virginia.
The cost for residential users of the service in Nevada, where Cox competes with CenturyLink’s top tier of 10 Mbps, is $119.99 per month . Cox customers will need to purchase a DOCSIS 3.0 modem for the wideband service, which is available in retail stores or can be purchased from Cox Las Vegas for $99.99.
The service is also available to Cox Business customers in the Las Vegas area, but pricing wasn’t available.
New and existing Cox subscribers will also need professional installation in order to get the faster tier up and running.
“The technology that enables our company to provide 50 Mbps over coaxial cable represents the latest development by the cable industry to provide 21st century speed and reliability,” said Marilyn Burrows, senior vice president and general manager of Cox Las Vegas. “Speed defines what is possible on the Internet, and Cox Ultimate Internet will give our customers an online experience that allows them to do more, do it faster and perform it more reliably than with any Internet provider in southern Nevada, or anywhere else in our state, using a non-fiber delivery system.”
In other launches, Cox used DOCSIS 3.0 gear from Cisco, including Cisco’s uBR10012 cable modem termination system and the company’s DPC3000 cable modem, but Cox has also qualified modems from Motorola.
Cox said it has spent more than $740 million on technology upgrades and infrastructure expansions since 2005 in southern Nevada.
Cox plans to offer DOCSIS 3.0 speeds in more than two-thirds of its systems across the country by the end of 2010.