CES 2008: 100Mbps connections coming this year

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts took to the stage this morning at CES totalk up his company's plan to offer HD movie downloads in four minutes.Eventually. In 2008, Comcast will begin rolling out the DOCSIS 3.0 protocol throughoutits network, and the company hopes to offer speeds of up to 100Mbpsover the next two years. Such a massive speed boost appears directlytargeted at Verizon's FiOS fiber-optic service, which currently topsout at 50Mbps in most places. Competition: it's a good thing.

Comcast is pitching the speed boost as something transformative, sayingthat it moves the company from being a simple "broadband" provider to a"wideband" provider. The ultimate goal is to reach the full 160Mbpspotential of DOCSIS 3.0 over cable lines, a speed that will allowComcast to offer HD movie downloads in minutes.
Such a speed boost, should it prove popular with consumers, willobviously put DSL providers like AT&T in a difficult position.Although AT&T is engaged on a major fiber upgrade, it is pullingfiber only to the local node and not to people's homes and apartments.The copper "last-mile" link currently tops out at 25Mbps, and that'sassuming an excellent connection.
160Mbps won't be coming to Comcast customers for some time,though. 2008 will be the year that DOCSIS 3.0 rolls out, but it willhappen first at lower speeds and in limited markets, as Comcast wantsto make sure that the 1.5 zettabytes of weekly data on its networkcontinues to flow without problems.
The new Ma Bell?
Roberts also touted the growth of the company's Digital Voice phoneservice. Comcast is now the fourth largest residential phone providerin the US, and Digital Voice is also the "fastest-growing home phoneservice in the country."

In 2008, Comcast will add some new features to the service in anattempt to keep similar offerings from IPTV providers like AT&Tfrom gaining traction. "Universal caller ID" will bring callerinformation to both the television and the computer. In addition, thecompany is launching a Internet portal where Digital Voice users canlisten to voicemails, forward them to others, and program home DVRs.
Roberts wants Comcast to be seen as an innovator. Around the OrbitingHQ, Comcast is synonymous with "dropped Internet connections" (thecause of much weeping and gnashing of teeth). But if the company getsits act together and can deliver 100Mbps speeds and more compellingphone features (and stops dropping connections during peak businesshours), it just might turn that reputation around.