Google isn’t the only company that’s providing gigabit internet services in select cities of the United States. Conventional ISPs have some skin in the game as well. They appear to be matching Google Fiber in the cities where it’s available, but a new report shows that Comcast’s gigabit internet service is almost twice as expensive in cities where Google Fiber isn’t available.
Google Fiber is already live in Atlanta and will soon go live in Nashville. Comcast offers a $70 per month package in both of these markets to those who sign a three-year contract, the price is double for those who don’t sign a long-term contract. For this price, customers get 1Gbps download and 32Mbps upload speeds without any limits, this is similar to what Google offers.
However, in cities where Google Fiber doesn’t exist, Comcast is charging twice as much. Take Chicago for example, Google Fiber isn’t there yet, and Comcast doesn’t offer the $70 per month option there. The cheapest option there costs $140 regardless of whether a long-term contract is signed or not.
Comcast did say to Ars Technica that it does offer the $70 plan to residents of Chicago but it’s just not being actively promoted. Reports suggest that it’s actively being hidden from customers and that it’s a chore to try and find the $70 gigabit option. This option was even missing from the press release Comcast sent out announcing the launch of its gigabit service in Chicago.
You might not feel that confident in Comcast now if you live in Chicago and opted for the $140 per month option simply because you didn’t know you could get the $70 option as well.
Filed in . Read more about Comcast, Gigabit and Google Fiber.