The company has increased broadband speeds 14 times in the last 13 years and has built 145,000 miles of fiber-optic network across the country.
"The next great Internet innovation is only an idea away, and we want to help customers push the boundaries of what the Internet can do and do our part to inspire developers to think about what's possible in a multi-gigabit future," said Marcien Jenkes, EVP of consumer services at Comcast.
It may not be one app that requires the 2 Gig capacity. The number of devices in the smart home environment, for example, is increasing. To run concurrently and provide a good customer experience will require more and more bandwidth.
"Our commitment to growing our Internet options comes down to making sure you have an amazing online experience," Jenkes said.
In order to qualify for Gigabit Pro, a home must be within approximately one-third of a mile of the fiber backbone. A qualified service tech visits potential subscribers to determine appropriate proximity and to explain to the resident the procedure involved with establishing the service. For example, a trench must be dug to pull fiber to the premises, where it is connected to a fiber terminus on the outside of the house. Inside, a professional grade router is required. Comcast has not yet revealed the manufacturer.
No specifics have been released about cost yet, either, although reports indicate that it will be less than Comcast's Xfinity 505, which offers a 505 Mbps Internet service for $399.95 per month.
Gigabit Pro isn't the only way Comcast intends to bring gigabit speeds to consumers. The company plans to begin rollout of DOCSIS 3.1 in early 2016, Jenkes said. Once this is complete, Comcast will be able to eliminate the fiber proximity requirement in order to provide gigabit speeds and reach customers' homes with the MSO's existing HFC architecture, which spans 600,000 miles.
"It will mean almost every customer in our footprint will be able to receive gigabit speeds over our existing network," Jenkes said.