Comcast plans new, higher speed Internet service in Twin Cities

Comcast says it will roll out two new high-speed Internet offerings later this year in the Twin Cities.

The cable company isn't saying yet exactly when the services will debut or what they will cost, but they represent a major speed upgrade for residential customers.

"Our new speed tier of 250 megabits per second will be available throughout our entire service territory," said Comcast spokesperson Mary Beth Schubert. "Our 2 gigabit service will be available to more than 600,000 homes by the end of 2015."

Next year, Comcast says it'll offer a 1 gigabit per second service to all residential customers in the metro area.

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The cable company seems to be on a pace to introduce higher-speed Internet connections faster than its rivals.

CenturyLink says its 1 gigabit per second Internet service will be available to 100,000 area homes by summer, but has not said how much it will charge.

US Internet has been deploying a fiber optic network in southwest Minneapolis. That firm's service is now available to about 30,000 homes, apartments and businesses.

US Internet charges $65 a month for 1 gigabit connection. CenturyLink has offered 1 gigabit service for $80 a month when customers add land line phones or TVs.

Comcast charges $115 for a 105 megabit per second connection, generally the highest speed the company has offered to residential customers, so far.

Comcast offers the 105 megabit connection to 1.1 million homes in the metro area, from western Wisconsin and Hastings, Minn., to parts of Minnetonka and Rogers in the west metro.