The gigabit Comcast cable ($ 105 with a data limit of 1 TB) is now available in 39 states

Comcast's gigabit cable service is now available to almost all of the 58 million homes and businesses in the US, Comcast announced yesterday.

Comcast, the country's largest Internet provider with over 26 million subscribers, began deploying a gigabit cable in early 2016. It is now available almost universally in Comcast territory, which includes 39 states and the District of Columbia.

Comcast's gigabit cable leverages DOCSIS 3.1 technology to provide download speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps, although Comcast indicates that speeds vary with network traffic and that Actual download speeds could be limited to 940 Mbps due to Ethernet technical limitations. " Download speeds are still limited to 35Mbps.

According to Comcast, this new step ensures it is "the largest gigabit broadband provider in the country". It's unclear how many subscribers opt for gigabit service, but Comcast said that 75% of its broadband customers "opt for plans with speeds of 100 Mbps or more, double the speed that these customers were using it. three years ago ".

$ 105 + per month and a data cap

The standard Comcast gigabit cable prices range from $ 104.95 to $ 139.95 depending on where you live, Comcast said in Ars. Promotions also vary by location. I found an offer of $ 89.99 per month for the first 12 months (and $ 104.95 per month thereafter) by checking the offers in my part of Massachusetts with the Comcast Availability Checker. The online ordering tool told me that I should pay a $ 60 fee for a "professional installation", even though I'm using my own modem instead of renting one out from Comcast.

Unfortunately, gigabit service is subject to Comcast 1TB data cap and data overhead charges if you live in any of the 27 states where Comcast applies the cap. Comcast automatically charges $ 10 for each additional 50 GB allowance, up to a limit of $ 200 per month. The company provides two "courtesy months" during which customers are not charged for overruns.

You can upgrade to unlimited data for $ 50 more per month. Another way to avoid this problem is to purchase Comcast's "Gigabit Pro" fiber service, which offers upstream and downstream 2 Gbps data rates. But the fiber optic service up to the home costs $ 300 a month and is not as widely available as the gigabit cable. Comcast told Ars that its Gigabit Pro service is available to approximately 18 million homes.

Charter, the country's second-largest cable company after Comcast, also offers gigabit cable service, but no data cap.

Disclosure: The Advance / Newhouse partnership, which owns 13% of Charter, is part of Advance Publications. Advance Publications owns Condé Nast, who owns Ars Technica.