Comcast has expanded its multigigabit internet service in the Spokane area, the next step in its effort to offer speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second in the years to come.
In October, Comcast began rolling out 2 gigabits per second Internet service to about 8% of its Spokane County network. The company expects that number to rise to 30% of homes in the county by next year, said Roy Novosel, Comcast’s vice president of networking.
“We will target our network hotspots first, and we will target areas of the city where occupancy is high to meet our customers’ needs,” Novosel said. “Otherwise, we have a plan to hit every square inch of our network in Spokane.”
Comcast declined to disclose the number of homes currently receiving multigig Internet service. It said internet speed improvements aren’t concentrated in a specific neighborhood, but are occurring in “small amounts” across the county.
Multigig internet service is a network connection with speeds in excess of 1 gigabit per second.
Comcast is the latest ISP to boost speeds across the Spokane area.
Lumen Technologies, formerly known as CenturyLink, announced in August that it plans to connect more than 11,650 homes in the Spokane area with Quantum Fiber services this year as part of its nationwide rollout of gigabit and multi-bit internet in 20 markets .
Kirkland, Wash.-based Ziply Fiber has built multigig internet capacity in Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls, according to the company.
TDS Fiber, which opened its fiber network in Spokane in 2021, offers Internet speeds of up to 2 gigabits per second, according to the company’s website.
The cable internet term 10G refers to gigabits per second, while 5G stands for fifth-generation mobile internet service.
In September, Comcast announced a successful test of the technology needed to eventually make 10G Internet available nationwide to customers using connections already available in their homes.
The company has not yet set a timeline for when 10G service will be available to customers, Novosel said.
“Our network is being prepared for this, and when consumer electronics are ready for this, our network is ready,” he said.
Novosel said 10G will improve reliability and reduce latency on Comcast’s network. It also meets a growing demand for faster internet speeds as customers add more devices to their home networks, he said.
“It’s more than just your TV, laptop and phones,” he said. “Today it’s household appliances, intelligent thermostats and lights in the house. It’s really about planning our future and meeting customer demand.”
