DOCSIS 3 on the way. Verizon boosts FIOS speeds

The big V seems to be determined to be the to dog inthe US speed race. With DOCSIS 3 deployments beginning to take shape, this might be due to a competititve threat formthe cable guys. While the new FIOS speeds would be substadnard in Paris or Korea, it keeps them king of the racetrack here in the US.

Verizon now tops out at 50 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream up from 30/15 Mbps ($90 or $140 per month, depending on area, with annual contract), while its slowest speed is 10/2 Mbps up from 5/2 Mbps (under $50 per month). Existing subscribers can request the faster speeds, which are available in some cases at no extra cost; in others, the monthly fee is slightly higher.

Since the introduction in the mid-1990s of residential broadband–often used for small-office and home-office connections as well–most places in which wired digital service is available have had either one or two providers, typically the incumbent telephone company and the incumbent cable provider. (PC World)

Now, if we could just get 2 or 3 more competitors into the game, we’d have considerably faster pipes at lower prices.