Ting, the Sprint (NYSE: S) MVNO that's building its own 1 Gbps fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network in Charlottesville, Va., says it will offer symmetrical gigabit service this month to residential customers for $89 a month. It will also offer a basic service with uploads and downloads at 5 megabits per second for $19 a month.

Initially, the FTTP network, which was facilitated by its purchase of Blue Ridge InternetWorks (BRI), will serve 12,000 homes.

Elliot Noss, president and CEO of Ting, said during the first-quarter earnings call that customers in the Charlottesville market will have two new options for FTTP services.

"This gives Ting town residents two great choices: world-class speed at a reasonable price, and reasonable speed at a world-class price," Noss said during the earnings call, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript.

Charlottesville may be its first market, but the service provider is exploring the possibility of launching in other communities. Similar to Google Fiber's (NASDAQ: GOOG) "fiberhood" concept, Ting has encouraged consumers to express their interest in having its fiber in their towns by filling out a form on its website.

Ting's entry into the 1 Gbps market is notable as the momentum for gigabit broadband speed continues to mount.

Following in the footsteps of Google Fiber with its $70 option, a growing number of service providers like AT&T (NYSE: T), CenturyLink and Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) are revealing new cities where they will take their service. CenturyLink said during its first-quarter earnings call that it will bring 1 Gbps service to 700,000 customers by the end of the year, while Comcast is now upping the ante with its 2 Gbps services, with plans to bring service to an estimated 18 million homes by the end of the year.

For more:

- see the Seeking Alpha transcript

Special report: Gigabit Wars: The best prices for 1 Gbps service from ILECs, MSOs and municipal providers

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