Comcast increases speeds again, but only for customers with cable TV

Comcast's new Henrico, Va. Xfinity store shown. (Joy Asico/Comcast via AP Images) Comcast's new Henrico, Va. Xfinity store shown. (Joy Asico/Comcast via AP Images) Photo: Joy Asico, FRE / Associated Press Photo: Joy Asico, FRE / Associated Press Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Comcast increases speeds again, but only for customers with cable TV 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

For the second time this year, Comcast is increasing speeds for some of its customers.

But for this go-round, cord cutters are not invited to the party.

Only those who bundle internet with cable television and other services, and who have Comcast’s latest X1 hardware, will see their speeds go up at no extra charge. However, the speed increases are significant.

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Customers who have the 60-Megabits-a-second tier and whose internet service is bundled with up to four other Comcast products will see their download speeds jump to 150 Mbps. Customers on the 150 Mbps tier with the Starter or Triple Play packages will increase to 250 Mbps.

Customers with the 250-Mbps service will see their speeds jump to either 400 Mpbs or 1 Gbps, depending on the package.

The speeds will only be available to Comcast customers who have the latest xFi modem, which uses the DOCSIS 3.1 cable internet standard. A Comcast spokesman said customers with older xFi devices will be able to upgrade them at no additional charge.

The speeds will also be available to Comcast customers who have cable TV and X1 equipment, but who have opted to use their own cable modems, provided they are DOCSIS 3.1 units.

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To get the faster speeds, eligible customers will need to restart their modems.

Comcast last boosted speeds for customers in certain tiers in January, and did not restrict it to those who bundle internet with cable TV. The company says it has increased speeds 17 times in as many years, but this is the first time the boost has been limited to customers who also have cable television.

Comcast also last month said it had rolled out gigabit-speed internet service throughout the Houston area for customers with DOCSIS 3.1 modems.

Dwight Silverman is the technology editor for the Houston Chronicle and the grillmaster for the TechBurger tech news site. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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