Whenever Jos Vaught needed to use the Internet last year, he drove to Knight Library or resorted to his roommate’s dial-up service because he couldn’t get anything faster.
“It’s in kind of an old neighborhood,” the University senior said of his Polk Street residence.
At the time, local high-speed Internet providers Comcast and Qwest could not service his home because of coverage limitations statewide. And although the Internet service providers have always recognized the need to expand to reach more people like Vaught, it was Comcast who got there first with a recent statewide upgrade.
“We just happen to be ahead of the game in the Northwest,” Comcast spokesman Dan Williams said of the early completion this summer.
Since its “friendly acquisition” of AT&T Broadband last November, Comcast — the largest broadband Internet provider in the United States — has been committed to an accelerated expansion of services. Over the last three years, the company has spent nearly $300 million on service upgrades in Oregon and southwest Washington alone. On a more local level, 11.5 percent of the 117,000 residents who are currently eligible for broadband Internet in Eugene subscribe to Comcast.
Meanwhile, Qwest has worked hard to catch up.
Last spring, the phone and DSL Internet service provider announced an incremental $75 million expansion campaign for its 14-state region.
“We’re doing what we can to expand,” Qwest spokeswoman Silvia McLachlan said, although she couldn’t reveal the company’s current market share. “Eugene is a key market for us.”
In order to qualify for Qwest DSL in Lane County, the actual phone wire connecting a household to the central office must be less than 18,000 feet long or within a three-mile radius. Although she couldn’t divulge the location of the central office or the number of Eugene residences that are currently eligible for DSL, McLachlan said students can call Qwest at (800) 244-1111 or go to www.qwest.com to check the availability of an address or home phone number.
“Stay tuned,” she said for those outside the coverage area. “Hopefully your home will be implemented soon.”
Qwest’s advice doesn’t surprise Williams.
“Phone companies have been telling customers to ‘hold tight’ for some time now,” he said. “With broadband high-speed Internet, all you need is a cable TV line to qualify.”
By high-speed, Williams means a 1,500 Kbps download speed for about $55 a month with basic cable television. Qwest offers a maximum 640 Kbps download speed for a similar price, though a phone line is required.
Williams said having the higher speed is Comcast’s key advantage in student communities.
“It’s primarily broadband users who are downloading lots of music,” he said.
As if 1.5 megabit isn’t fast enough, Comcast is currently testing double the downloading speed — over 3 megabit — in markets in Atlanta and Pittsburg for the same price. Williams said the project is just one of several ways Comcast is trying to improve its services. “This is a very competitive market,” he said. “We’ll have to stay competitive to stay in business.”