Altice USA (NYSE:ATUS) is now offering gigabit Internet service based on DOCSIS 3.0 in four new Suddenlink markets: Batesville and El Dorado, AR; Maryville, MO; and Conroe, TX. The company has also increased certain other Suddenlink residential Internet speeds for current customers in those regions at no charge.
"Today's announcement is the next step in Altice USA's Operation GigaSpeed initiative to provide gigabit broadband service to our Suddenlink customers," said Altice USA Co-President and Chief Operating Officer Hakim Boubazine. "We are pleased that Suddenlink's ultra-fast gigabit service is now available in all of the neighborhoods and to all of the households and businesses we serve throughout these four new 'Gig Cities.'"
Local business owners will also have access to the new gigabit service, along with Suddenlink customized services the company offers that are capable of multi-gigabit speeds.
In addition to launching the 1 Gbps service, residential high-speed Internet customers with current downstream speeds up to 75 and 100 Mbps have been upgraded to 100 and 200 Mbps, respectively. The standard Suddenlink residential Internet download speeds in each region are now up to 50, 100, 200, and 400 Mbps, and 1 Gbps.
Suddenlink started Operation GigaSpeed in 2014, prior to being acquired by Altice, with the goal of providing gigabit services in 90% of its markets by the end of 2017. Altice has continued to support the project with numerous gigabit launches, most recently in eastern North Carolina. The service is based on DOCSIS 3.0 in most markets, though a few deployments have used fiber-to-the-home (FTTH).
Altice also plans to launch 10 Gbps FTTH service across its U.S. footprint. That project is expected to take 5 years and is scheduled to begin later this year.
