Xfinity Blast! gets new speed boost

Comcast announced that it is increasing download speeds of its most popular internet services in Chattanooga and other markets at no extra cost to its subscribers.

Beginning in July, download speeds for the company’s Xfinity Blast! tier will jump from 100 Mbps to 150 Mbps while Extreme 150 speeds will nearly double from 150 Mbps to 250 Mbps. Today, about 75 percent of Comcast’s Internet customers in the Southeast subscribe to one of those two tiers and will see their download speeds upgraded next month.

Comcast download speeds for its most common programs will exceed the basic download speed of EPB’s most popular internet links in Chattanooga, although EPB offers up to 10 gigabyte-per-second speed for its premium plans and EPB also maintains a symmetrical loading capacity for both uploading and downloading data from the web from all of its plans. Comcast is keeping its upload speed at 10 Mbps.

“Customer usage patterns show that the vast majority of customers use download speeds over upstream,” Comcast spokeswoman Sara Jo Walker said.

Current and new customers of Comcast can subscribe to the Xfinity speed tiers on a stand-alone basis or as part of a package, Walker said.

“Faster speeds help ensure that customers have all the speed necessary to power the growing number of devices they are connecting to and controlling in the home — everything from computers, smartphones, and gaming consoles, to more sophisticated home automation services and smart appliances,” said Doug Guthrie, Comcast’s senior vice president.

Comcast has increased internet speeds 17 times in the past 17 years.

To get the new speeds, most customers, including all xFi users, will simply need to re-start their modems, which either can be done via the xFi app, through the Xfinity My Account app or manually.