Rocket Fiber to bring 10-Gbps FTTP to Detroit

Broadband services startup Rocket Fiber says it will offer 10-Gbps Internet broadband to residents and 100-Gbps connections to businesses in its home city of Detroit. The company, part of the Quicken Loans family of companies, says it will use fiber to the premises (FTTP), but did not reveal the technology behind the FTTP approach.

Rocket Fiber says it its residential service is in beta testing at The Albert and Malcomson Buildings in Detroit's Capitol Park neighborhood. The company says it also has connected 19 office buildings to its fiber-optic network, including the First National Building and One Kennedy Square.

So far, Rocket Fiber has installed 17 miles of fiber-optic cable and begun to deliver service in downtown Detroit's Central Business District. Nevertheless, the service provider asserted that it will begin to serve "large numbers of business and residential customers" in early 2016. The company says it plans expand to Midtown Detroit in 2016 and eventually serve customers outside the city as well.

The company will offer the 10-Gbps residential service for $299 a month. It also will offer 1-Gbps services at $70 monthly. The company also plans to offer IPTV services at an unspecified date.

In addition to Quicken Loans, Rocket Fiber has received funding from Rock Ventures Founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert.

For more information on FTTx equipment and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer's Guide.