Comcast today pledged to bring gigabit Internet service to nearly 3 million California homes starting in June.
The company's Gigabit Pro service, which it announced earlier this month, is a fiber-to-the-home service that promises up to 2Gbps service.
It will be available in Chico, Fresno, Marysville/Yuba City, Merced, Modesto, Monterey, Sacramento, Salinas, the San Francisco Bay Area, Santa Barbara County, Stockton, and Visalia metro areas. (But that does not include Arbuckle, Coalinga, Cool, Gustine, Huron, Isleton, Le Grand, Lodi, Maxwell, Planada, Rio Vista, Santa Cruz, Santa Nella, Scotts Valley, or Williams.)
Comcast said it will provide Gigabit Pro to homes within close proximity of its fiber network because it requires "installation of professional-grade equipment."
Gigabit Pro is also coming to Atlanta. Comcast has not announced how much it will charge for the service. Rival Google Fiber costs about $70 per month for 1Gbps. As Ars Technica noted earlier this month, Comcast's existing 505Mbps residential speed tier costs $399.95 per month, but Comcast told Ars that Gigabit Pro will not be that pricey and 505 customers will get a bump to 2Gbps.
Google Fiber is not yet available in California, but AT&T is rolling out gigabit Internet in Cupertino, home of Apple.
In addition to the California gigabit rollout, meanwhile, Comcast also announced Extreme 250, a new 250 Mbps Internet speed tier for California customers. Starting in May, the ISP will also boost its Performance tier from 50 Mbps to 75 Mbps and its Blast tier from 105 Mbps to 150 Mbps, at no extra cost.
Time Warner Cable, which Comcast is trying to acquire, did something similar recently. The company is rolling out "TWC Maxx," which will provide Internet that's up to six times faster than existing service. Customers who currently have TWC's standard 15 Mbps Internet service or 30 Mbps Extreme service, for example, will be getting up to 200 Mbps. Those on the 50 Mbps Ultimate will be upgraded to 300 Mbps.
That merger, meanwhile, might be in danger. According to Bloomberg, the Justice Department might recommend that the deal be blocked.