Comcast has launched faster internet speeds for about a third of its service area in Colorado Springs, upping its current maximum download speeds available in the local market from 1.2 gigabits-per-second (Gbps) to 2 Gbps, the company announced Aug. 22.
The Springs is Comcast’s first market in Colorado to be offered that level of gig-speed internet for customers of its Xfinity xFi Complete and Comcast Business products, a Comcast news release said. As several other entities build out fiber-based infrastructure for 1 gig and multi-gig-speed internet capabilities in the city, Comcast has been updating and expanding its own fiber “backbone” and traditional coaxial cable infrastructure to increase speeds, the Business Journal reported in April.
Most zip codes in the city that already have Xfinity Internet service available have access to the upgrade, but it is not yet offered to the entirety of each of those zip codes, Leslie Oliver, senior director for external communications for Comcast’s Mountain West Region, told the Business Journal in an email. Nearly 30 percent of the company’s overall service area has the upgraded technology as of Aug. 19, she wrote, “with more coming on line every day.”
“Once complete, our entire footprint in CO Springs will have this next gen technology to enable multi-gig speeds,” Oliver wrote. “Comcast is directly notifying customers as the technology is enabled for them to have the new upgraded speeds.”
Customers must have xFi Complete, Comcast’s all-inclusive, “whole in-home” WiFi system to be automatically upgraded to faster speeds, and those who don’t may need to get xFi Complete or ensure the WiFi technology already installed in their home is compatible with the 2 Gbps service, Oliver said via email. Customers will be notified about what they need to do to be eligible, she said.
The company is also increasing its maximum upload speeds available for all gigabit customers, including those who remain on Xfinity’s previous maximum 1.2 Gbps plan. For this plan and the new 2 Gbps plan, upload speeds can get up to 200 megabits-per-second (Mbps), according to an outline of xFi’s internet speeds, shared by Oliver.
Faster upload speeds make internet activities like video calls and transferring large files online quicker and less prone to disruptions, while download speeds are important for streaming video content. Download speeds tend to be much higher than upload — the Comcast press release said its “downstream traffic” was about 14 times more than its upload traffic in 2021, requiring higher download capabilities, according to its Network Report published in March.
Comcast is working towards a multi-gig “symmetrical” connection, which would offer the same download and upload speeds, the company’s release said. The fiber-based internet company Underline Infrastructure, Inc., which launched its services this month, currently offers symmetrical 1 gig and multi-gig connections to parts of the Springs.
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