Cable giant Comcast announced Tuesday it will offer gigabit-speed internet to Utah homes, starting in early 2017.
The Philadelphia-based company said it will deploy a telecommunications technology called DOCSIS 3.1 to deliver the services via existing fiber-coaxial wiring already installed in most homes, though interested customers will need a new compatible cable modem.
"We're excited to be able to continue to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers by investing in our network to bring gigabit speeds to homes across our state," said Merlin Jensen, Comcast's vice president of technical operations for Utah.
Prices for the service were not yet available. Comcast spokeswoman Dee Knight said the company was conducting market trials in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit and Nashville, Tenn., and would base Utah pricing in part on what it learned there.
Comcast's news comes two months after Google Fiber launched gigabit speeds to business and residential customers in central Salt Lake City, delivered via a fiber-optic network installed across the city. It has since rolled out gigabit access in Sugar House and plans to extend the service citywide.
Google Fiber also offers gigabit speeds in Provo, through that city's iProvo network. Phone company CenturyLink also provides gigabit speeds in some areas.
Comcast, which operates under the XFINITY brand, said it will be the first to offer gigabit speeds across all of the Beehive State.
The move drew praise from the Utah Technology Council, a trade association for nearly 5,000 companies in the state. In a statement, the group's president and CEO, Richard Nelson, said Comcast "continues to play a crucial role in Utah's development as a high-tech community."
Nelson said the group was grateful to Comcast for "choosing to bring this exciting new broadband technology here and for their belief in our high-growth market."
One of the nation's largest cable TV and internet-service providers, Comcast already sells a two-gigabit service in Utah, requiring special equipment and a professional installation, and billed as being "designed for the most advanced digital homes."
Jensen said customer demand continues to grow for faster access to digital media and for connecting a rising number of home devices to the internet.
The company said it has invested more than $1.5 billion during the past two decades to expand and upgrade its networks in Utah and boosting speeds 15 times since 2003.
tsemerad@sltrib.com
Twitter: @TonySemerad
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