In another sign of the growing competition between cable and phone companies, Cablevision plans to announce that it will offer its residential customers some of the fastest Internet connections available.
Cablevision, the nation�s fifth-largest cable provider, plans to start selling broadband connections with top speeds of 50 megabits per second to the 4.5 million households in the area where it offers service. Cablevision will also raise the speed of its current broadband service by 50 percent, to 15 megabits per second, at no additional cost.
The move comes as Verizon, Cablevision�s chief rival in the New York metropolitan area, introduces its own super-fast Internet service. In places where Verizon has installed new fiber-optic cables, consumers can buy broadband connections of up to 30 megabits per second.
The cable and phone companies have been in a battle for broadband customers because the service generates substantial profits, and because customers who get the service are more likely to sign up for a phone line or television programming package.
Cablevision, the nation�s fifth-largest cable provider, plans to start selling broadband connections with top speeds of 50 megabits per second to the 4.5 million households in the area where it offers service. Cablevision will also raise the speed of its current broadband service by 50 percent, to 15 megabits per second, at no additional cost.
The move comes as Verizon, Cablevision�s chief rival in the New York metropolitan area, introduces its own super-fast Internet service. In places where Verizon has installed new fiber-optic cables, consumers can buy broadband connections of up to 30 megabits per second.
The cable and phone companies have been in a battle for broadband customers because the service generates substantial profits, and because customers who get the service are more likely to sign up for a phone line or television programming package.