Another company is contributing to what has become a new digital divide--the availability of ultra-high-speed broadband in certain markets while others lag behind with more "traditional" broadband speeds. Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) announced plans to launch 300 Mbps service to customers in several New York City and Los Angeles communities where it has completed network upgrades.

Customers who don't want that much speed will still get a bump as the service provider's Standard Internet plan goes from 15 to 50 Mbps while the Ultimate package goes from 100 Mbps to 300 Mbps. Both increases come without any new prices but will require a new DOCSIS 3.0 modem.

"These significant speed increases and network enhancements will allow our Internet customers to get the most out of their TWC experience," Chairman-CEO Robert Marcus said in a press release.

In addition to the residential change, Time Warner Cable Business introduced speed tiers of 100 Mbps, 200 Mbps and 300 Mbps as options in the Wideband portfolio. TWC Business Services also has a symmetrical fiber-based service that delivers up to 10 Gbps for business customers.

The speed changes are part of a spurt within the telecommunications space. AT&T (NYSE: T) recently announced plans to deliver up to 1 Gbps to 100-plus communities around 21 metropolitan areas that met carrier criteria and TWC suitor Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) noted its speed increases during a conference call detailing first quarter earnings.

"We recently increased speeds again for the 13th time in 12 years, doubling speeds in our Blast products to 105 megabits while our Extreme tier moved up to 150 for customers in the Northeast," Comcast Chairman-CEO Brian Roberts said during prepared remarks.

For more:

- see this press release

- and this Comcast earnings call transcript

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