COMING SUNDAY: The AJC examines the arrival of gigabit speeds in metro Atlanta and explains why faster downloads are the future.
Comcast will launch a 1 gigabit high-speed Internet service, which it says enables users to download a 2-hour high-definition movie in about 40 seconds, in Atlanta and Nashville, the cable giant is expected to announce Tuesday.
Customers in the two cities will be the first in the nation to get the speed bump through a new modem that allows 1 gigabit downloads over existing fiber optic lines, eliminating the need for infrastructure improvements to push the higher speeds.
Comcast already offers a 2-gigabit service in Atlanta, but rival AT&T and new high-speed Internet entrant Google are pushing the more affordable 1-gigabit speeds. AT&T made the service available last spring in some parts of metro Atlanta.
Comcast said its 1 gigabit-service will be available in the coming months, but did not specify the date or price or say if there will be a data cap tied to the service.
Google, which has announced plans to serve parts of metro Atlanta, charges $70 a month for internet-only gigabit service in cities where it has already launched the business. AT&T initially charged $120 a month but now prices the service at $70.
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