Now in San Antonio - 40 MBPS (But not from AT&T)

Regional broadband provider, GVTC Communications has just announced that it will now be offering 40 Mbps Internet service, the fastest broadband speed available in South Texas.

While they are not on the size or scale of AT&T, (they have about 31,000 residential and businesses lots connected to GVTC’s all-fiber network) it's compelling to see and ask why AT&T did not step things up a bit when they just announced 24 MBPS service in my area. 

It's pretty obvious that bandwidth hungry consumers use broadband connections for high-bandwidth applications like accessing HD video, playing online games and working remotely from home. Many connect multiple home computers and media devices to a single network connection, sharing it between users.

With GVTC’s new 40 Mbps service, customers will be able to download a standard-definition movie (2 GB) in less than a minute. The service’s 10 Mbps upload speed will let users share large media files, from digital photo albums to complex business presentations, in just seconds.

There is a consumer offering starting at $89.95 monthly as part of a bundled package and a business offering - $209.95 monthly as part of a bundle with a term contract.  I suspect many home based businesses who are in GVTC's service area will jump on this.  And for gamers and solo developers, this is a speed dream come true - and a sign of things to come.

In the company's press release, they also take a swipe at AT&T -  by citing "rival communications providers utilize older copper wires for the “last mile” of their networks, choking their ability to offer comparable speeds. Many also have a shared network infrastructure, meaning users’ speeds slow as additional people in their neighborhood log on."

This sounds good in PR speak but the realities are that not everyone is going to be able to have fiber to the home.  

Regardless, it's good to see innovation continuing and not always coming from the original phone company.  Kudos to GVTC for stepping things up a bit.

 

I