Cox has kicked off its 1-gig residential service rollout in San Diego, marking the occasion with an event near the Pinnacle, a new 45-store apartment building in the city’s East Village that is among the first locations that will get the new service.

Cox said the initial launch will also include some new single-family homes in Escondido and north San Diego. Service there will run $99 a month, plus a $100 installation fee, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Cox, which is marketing the service under the G1GABLAST brand, is initially using fiber-to-the-premises technology to deliver gigabit speeds, but also has plans to use DOCSIS 3.1, an emerging multi-gigabit platform for HFC networks.

Following its first G1GABLAST service launch in Phoenix last fall, Cox has also started targeted FTTP overlays in Omaha, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La.; Las Vegas and Phoenix, and FTTP in all of its new-build systems. Cox’s plan is to begin market- wide deployment of Gigabit services by the end of 2016.

"Cox is the first provider in San Diego County to offer gigabit speeds to residential customers," Dave Bialis, SVP and region manager for Cox’s California operations, said in a statement. "We're excited to once again be on the forefront of bringing the latest technology to our customers, and we'll continue investing in our network and our community."

Cox also announced that customers on its Ultimate Internet package will see their speeds double later this year from 150 Mbps (down) to 300 Mbps.