New York-based company Cablevision has rolled out a new broadband Internet service that offers subscribers download speeds up to 101 Megabits per second.
Subscribers in select New York markets will be able to have 101 Megabit per second downloads, with 15 megabits per second upload speeds starting on May 11. A 4GB HD movie can be downloaded in less than six minutes, with a 1.6GB standard definition movie finished in two minutes.
The new fast Internet service will be available for $99.95 per month.
Cablevision currently has 3 million subscribers in New York, and will begin to expand its Wi-Fi Internet service offerings in the future.
Verizon currently has the top Internet speeds in the United States, offering download speeds of 50 megabits per second at $140 per month. Although nothing has been confirmed by Verizon, it's possible New York-area subscribers may see a drop in prices as Verizon aims to better compete with Cablevision.
Comcast also has a 50 megabit offering for $139 per month, and most companies offering similar speeds routinely charge $125+ per month.
Actual subscriber demand for the fast Internet connections -- along with the premium price tag -- remains relatively low at the moment, especially in a struggling economy. I believe things might change in the next few years though, as more Internet users begin to stream videos and other large files over the Internet more routinely.
Furthermore, it's worth noting that even though the speed through the ISP is fast, many services -- including Microsoft's Xbox Live -- have bottlenecks that could render a fast Internet connection somewhat useless. It should be interesting to see if service providers also begin to open up the pipes if more subscribers begin using faster connections.
