Comcast tests super-fast gigabit cable Internet access

Cable Internet just got a lot faster. Comcast says it has moved gigabit Internet speeds from the laboratory to the real world, rolling out 3.1 gigabit modem for a single home in Philadelphia.

"We took the next important step forward in delivering gigabit speed broadband over our hybrid fiber coaxial network," the company's executive vice president and chief technology officer Tony Werner wrote in a blog post. "The test used the standard cable connections that we have in homes across the country. All we needed was a new modem, a software upgrade to the device that serves that neighborhood, and a few good engineers."

Comcast claims this is the first home equipped with DOCSIS 3.1 (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) on a customer-facing network, working through the company's existing networks. No new connections or wiring in the home needed to be installed. "The beauty of DOCSIS 3.1 is that it is backwards compatible, so no digging up streets or backyards," Werner said.

Gigabit Internet speeds are not entirely new. Comcast's announcement moves the company into competition with the likes of Google Fiber, which offers super-fast Internet speeds in certain areas but requires installing entirely new cable connections.

Werner added that Comcast will continue to test the new cable connections "over the coming months," and that before the end of 2016, consumers can expect "a new gigabit speed choice that works over the existing connections" in homes in "several parts of the country" including Pennsylvania, Northern California and the Atlanta area.