10:05 AM -- Suddenlink Communications has expanded the reach of MAX 107.0, still the fastest downstream Docsis 3.0 tier in the US, to systems serving Tyler and Whitehouse, Texas.

Suddenlink debuted the tier, which offers bursts of 107 Mbit/s in the downstream and 5 Mbit/s in the upstream, in March in three Austin suburbs -- Georgetown, Pflugerville, and Leander -- and, in doing so, dethroned Mediacom Communications Corp. as US cable's D3 downstream speed king. Suddenlink also markets a 50-Mbit/s (downstream) D3 tier. (See Suddenlink Unleashes 107-Meg Wideband Tier.)

The wideband upgrade is tied to "Project Imagine," a bandwidth management and advanced services initiative underway that will see Suddenlink spend about $350 million in capex through 2012 "above and beyond" its regular spending levels. In addition to D3 upgrades, that money will also be spent to launch video-on-demand (VoD) services and to free up capacity for up to 200 high-definition television channels.

On Tuesday's first-quarter earnings call, the company noted that the first phase of Project Imagine was "substantially completed" in April, with Docsis 3.0 available to about two thirds of its customer base, and VoD to about 60 percent. HD service is already available in about 90 percent of its footprint. (See Suddenlink Posts Q1.)

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Light Reading Cable