Here’s the latest from Qwest:
Qwest Unveils 40 Mbps Downstream, 20 Mbps Upstream High-Speed Internet Service
5 Mbps Upstream for $5 Available to Qualifying Customers with 7 Mbps, 12 Mbps, 20 Mbps Service
Faster downstream and upstream connection speeds enhance quality of two-way, video-based applications, like online video chat.
DENVER, July 20, 2009 – Qwest Communications (NYSE: Q) has introduced the next evolution of its high-speed Internet services, delivering downstream connection speeds of 40 Mbps and upstream speeds of 20 Mbps*.
KEY FACTS
• Using next-generation VDSL2 broadband technology, Qwest doubles its fastest downstream connection speeds and increases upstream speeds – among the fastest available in the country – for qualifying residential and small-business customers.
• These new speed enhancements deliver faster video and picture sharing, better online video chat experiences and fewer delays in the popular Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs). See the speed demonstration here.
• The faster speeds also complement current Qwest offerings, such as automatic online backup service and Video on Demand services through its DIRECTV partnership.
• Qwest has started to roll out these services on a limited basis in certain locations within its fiber-optic-fast Internet footprint, including Denver, Tucson, Salt Lake City and Minneapolis/St. Paul. In the coming months, Qwest plans to introduce these services to select areas within 23 markets in New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
• This new product is being offered to qualifying customers at the following prices:
o Connection speeds of 40 Mbps downstream with 5 Mbps upstream, starting at $99.99 a month for the first 12 months when combined with a qualifying home phone package.
o Connection speeds of 40 Mbps downstream with 20 Mbps upstream, starting at $109.99 a month for the first 12 months when combined with a qualifying home phone package.
o An introductory rate of $5 more a month for qualified customers with 7 Mbps, 12 Mbps or 20 Mbps speed tiers who upgrade to 5 Mbps upstream speeds.
• Customers can go to http://www.qwest.com/morespeed to check availability and sign up to receive notification of faster speeds deployed to their neighborhood.
• This technology expands on Qwest’s fiber-to-the-node (FTTN) deployment, which has reached more than 2 million potential customers in its local service region.
I went online this morning to see if this service was available in my Mahtomedi neighborhood, just a couple blocks from White Bear Lake.
Here is the Qwest reply – “Qwest Broadband is not currently available.” I received a nice offer of dial-up service and a promise now several years old to notify me when broadband becomes available to my home from Qwest.
It would be nice to have a choice of broadband providers! Pew Research shows that when there are three or more providers of broadband, prices drop dramatically.