Updated later on December 4
BTC Broadband yesterday joined the ranks of communications service providers offering gigabit service. The small Northeast Oklahoma-based company said the service will be available in areas that already are served by fiber-to-the-home infrastructure, including more than 4,500 homes in 45 residential developments.
“Most any neighborhood built in the last five years within the Bixby area has BTC Broadband fiber-to-the-home,” wrote the company in yesterday’s announcement. The company also noted that any new construction to homes or businesses will be based on fiber-to-the-premises. Bixby is a Tulsa suburb.
This is the second time this year BTC Broadband has increased the speeds that it offers. Back in February the company made 300 Mbps service available to FTTH customers. At that time BTC Broadband President Scott Floyd told Telecompetitor that a truck roll was not needed when an FTTH customer upgraded to 300 Mbps service.
In announcing the gigabit offering, BTC also said that it was increasing the bandwidth of existing speed tiers. The slowest speed the company offers is now 60 Mbps. In addition the company will now offer 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps service.
Back in February BTC Broadband told us that the company’s 300 Mbps offering would cost $195 a month and the 100 Mbps service would cost $95. Both services provided 20 Mbps on the upstream side. With the 1 Gbps service replacing the 300 Mbps service, it would appear that the 1 Gbps will cost about $195 monthly.
We have asked BTC Broadband for additional information about pricing and upstream speeds and will issue an update whenever we receive that information.
Small Telco Gigabit
BTC Broadband claims to be the first company in Oklahoma to offer gigabit service. But assuming that’s true, it probably won’t be the only company with a gigabit offering for long. In May another small Oklahoma-based service provider Bolt Fiber Optic Services said it planned to offer gigabit service beginning in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Update- A BTC Broadband spokesperson got back to us to say that the price for 1 Gbps service with a two-year contract will be $99 per month for the first 12 months, then will increase to $129. Customers currently receiving 300 Mbps service will be upgraded to the higher speed.
The new price for 100 Mbps service is $59 for the first 12 months, then will increase to $71. The 60 Mbps price will be $49 for the first 12 months, increasing to $61. The lower tier prices also assume a two-year contract.
The upstream data rate for all services is 20 Mbps.
Additionally the spokesperson noted that a truck roll will be required to deliver gigabit service in order to install new customer premises equipment.
