Mediacom Communications continued the trend of cable broadband providers increasing broadband speeds to fend off increasing competition. The operator upped the download speeds of more than 900,000 subscribers for its Xtream Internet service. There will be no increase in subscription rates for the upgrades, which are effective immediately.
Mediacom’s Access Internet 60 download speeds increased from 60 Mbps to 100 Mbps (67%), Internet 100 increased from 100 Mbps to 200 Mbps (100%) and Internet 300 increased from 300 Mbps to 400 Mbps (33%).
Connect2Compete Plus — the product Mediacom offers to qualifying low-income households — will double in speed from 50 Mbps to 100 Mbps. According to Mediacom, the offering is “designed to work in conjunction with” the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). That program pays a $30 benefit to qualifying low-income households, which apparently means that ACP households could essentially get the service for free.
“Similar to our 2021 launch of Xtream WiFi 360pro which is now being used in more than 50,000 homes and businesses served by Mediacom, these speed enhancements are being implemented to facilitate the seamless connection of more internet-enabled devices and enrich the consumer experience,” John Pascarelli, Mediacom’s Executive Vice President of Operations, said in a press release.
Mediacom provides data, video and phone services to 1.5 million subscribers in 22 states, primarily in the midwest and southeast. It is the fifth largest cable operator in the U.S.
The cable industry is meeting competition with increased speeds. Two other operators made announcements so far this month.
Charter Spectrum announced last week that it is raising its entry level broadband tier to 200 Mbps in 37 markets. The increase will impact about 5 million homes. Charter also offers 400 Mbps and 1 Gbps tiers.
Also last week, Comcast increased both downstream and upstream speeds for its most popular Xfinity Internet tiers. The move will impact subscribers in 14 northeastern states and the District of Columbia.
The changes:
- Extreme Pro will increase download speeds by more than 12% and upload speeds by 33%, from 800/15 Mbps to 900/20 Mbps
- Blast! will increase download speeds by 50% and double upload speeds, from 400/10 Mbps to 600/20 Mbps
- Performance Pro will increase download speeds by 50% and double upload speeds, from 200/5 Mbps to 300/10 Mbps
- Performance upload speeds will double from 100/5 Mbps to 100/10 Mbps
- Performance Starter upload speeds will double from 50/5 Mbps to 50/10 Mbps
