Suddenlink: US Cable's New Speed King?

Is Suddenlink Communications preparing to launch a Docsis 3.0 tier that would make it the US cable speed king, at least when it comes to download bursts?

Maybe. This posting on the DSL Reports message board presents a "press release being sent around" that purportedly announces that the MSO is launching "Max 107.0" -- a new D3 tier that offers 107-Mbit/s bursts downstream and an absolutely asymmetrical 5 Mbit/s in the upstream -- in several suburban Austin, Texas, communities, including Georgetown, Pflugerville, and Leander. The possibly leaked release is dated Monday, March 29, 2010.

Those communities, the posting goes on to state, will be the first to get the service, which Suddenlink is introducing through a $350 million "Project Imagine" capex investment earmarked through 2012. The capex push also puts in place a process to help Suddenlink deliver 200 HDTV channels, according to the posting, which also says the MSO will offer 50 Mbit/s and the 107-Mbit/s tier in other communities later this year.

So, is it true? The release reads like a corporate announcement, but the MSO's not confirming any details in the release… sort of.

"We did not issue this," a Suddenlink spokesman said in an emailed response to questions about the message board posting. Which, of course, could mean that it still might issue it. So we'll keep our ears to the ground.

If it is true, it would make Suddenlink's D3 tier the fastest in the US, eclipsing Mediacom Communications Corp. 's 105-Mbit/s downstream tier. (See Mediacom's Other 105-Meg Market and Mediacom to Wear Speed King Crown .)

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Light Reading Cable