Mediacom ‘flipping the switch’ on fast gigabit broadband service

Cable television and communications company Mediacom said it will be “flipping the switch” Wednesday on its new gigabit broadband service in the Columbus area and surrounding communities.

The completion of what it calls “Project Gigabit” will be marked by a demonstration of the service at the company’s 6700 Macon Road facility, with community leaders expected to be on hand. The launch will touch on the benefits of the “super fast” high-speed broadband Internet for residential and business customers in a 30-county region in southwest Georgia, including Columbus. The company said its network passes more than 250,000 homes in the region.

Mediacom, headquartered in Blooming Grove, N.Y., said it has spent millions of dollars to equip its Columbus “headend” facility with the technology required to make the transition to a Gigasphere platform known as “DOCSIS 3.1.” More than a dozen other locations in Georgia received new system equipment as well as part of the company’s overall $1 billion investment in the upgrade.

The privately owned firm does business primarily in the Midwest and Southeast, with roughly 3 million homes and businesses in its 22-state coverage area. The eighth-largest cable operator in the U.S. primarily focuses on smaller markets.

It was just over a year ago that Mediacom marked the 20th anniversary of its first cable system acquisition, while also announcing that it was launching improvements to its network for the ultimate rollout of “Project Gigabit.” The company says it has invested $8 billion into its overall systems and network over those two decades.

“From the time we acquired our first cable system in March 1996, Mediacom’s focus has always been to offer the smaller communities we serve the same communications and video services that are available in America’s largest cities,” Mediacom Chief Executive Officer Rocco Commisso said at the time. “Project Gigabit will allow us to go even further by giving our customers access to one of the fastest broadband networks in the world.”

Aside from Mediacom, Internet service providers serving the Columbus area in some form or fashion — through fiber lines or wireless towers — include WOW!, Charter Communications, AT&T, Cable TV of East Alabama, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint.

This story was originally published April 25, 2017 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Mediacom ‘flipping the switch’ on fast gigabit broadband service."