Speed thrills: CenturyLink rolls out super-fast Twin Cities Internet access

CenturyLink is now offering some Twin Cities residents Internet connections that can reach speeds of 1 gigabit per second.

The new service could reduce the average time required to download a typical movie from about ten minutes to about six seconds, Tyler Middleton, CenturyLink vice president and general manager, said Tuesday.

The company plans to expand the service across the metro area in the coming months and years. "The demand for increased bandwidth is nothing short of insatiable," Middleton said.

Comcast's top speed for residences in this market is about 105 megabits per second. U.S. Internet already offers similarly speedy 1 gigabit per second internet connections, although that service is only available in certain areas of Minneapolis.

CenturyLink said its new high-speed internet will cost $80 to $110 a month, depending on how residents bundle their services.

Middleton declined to say where the speedy Internet is currently available or how the service would be rolled out across the region.

CenturyLink already offers 1 gigabit per second residential internet service in Omaha and Las Vegas. Tuesday's announcement adds the service for residential customers to eleven more cities.