If you’re a Comcast customer frustrated with slow Internet speeds, the company has some good news for you.
Comcast announced this week that it ramped up download speeds for residential customers in Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Colorado Springs.
For “no additional cost to the customer,” Comcast improved the speeds for three service tiers: “Performance” went from 25 Mbps to 50 Mbps; “Blast” went from 50 Mbps to 105 Mbps; and “Extreme” went from 105 Mbps to 150 Mbps.
The changes will happen automatically “over the next few days,” but you can restart your modem to see the speed increases immediately. Some customers may need to upgrade their hardware to enjoy faster speeds, and Comcast said it would notify them.
Comcast’s improved network comes as CenturyLink begins expanding its own gigabit fiber service throughout Seattle. CondoInternet, a subsidiary of Wave Broadband, is also offering fiber Internet service to residents in Eastlake starting this month for $60-to-$80 per month.
Meanwhile, the City of Seattle — which approved legislation in September removing “excessive administrative requirements” for telecom companies that want to build broadband utility boxes in neighborhoods — is currently studying the cost and implications of a publicly-funded Internet system. It is also in discussions with other private companies who are interested in partnering with the City and using its dark fiber.
Comcast customers — let us know if you notice faster Internet speeds.
Update: The speed increases are for all customers in the state of Washington. More info here.
