With the most widely available consumer broadband service, cable is leading the way in bringing broadband to America. According to SNL Kagan, cable's high-speed Internet (HSI) service available to 92% of the households in the U.S., or about 120 million homes.

To provide consumers with a wider range of robust Internet offerings, some cable operators are now beginning to deploy a next-generation, ultra fast broadband service (which utilizes the DOCSIS 3.0 specification) that delivers speeds of up to 60 Mbps and will soon deliver speeds well over 100 Mbps.

Ultra-fast Broadband

Through a process called channel bonding, cable operators are able to maximize the capacity of the current network and offer ultra-fast, high-speed Internet service.  Channel bonding allows cable operators to combine – literally glue together – two, three, four or more channels to increase the speed of the high-speed data service.

This “supersizing” of Internet speeds for consumers means: faster downloads of large files, such as HD movies; better bandwidth utilization; improved video quality, enhanced security; and the potential for additional Internet-enabled devices.

Several major cable operators announced they would begin rolling out ultra-fast high-speed Internet during the end of 2008 and into 2009.  Comcast completed its initial goal of upgrading 20 percent of its markets by the end of 2008.  Other operators have announced they are beginning to roll out service.