Gigabit Squared this week revealed how much Seattle residents should expect to pay for its ultra-fast gigabit Internet service.

The company will offer three service plan options. Those who want the best of the best should opt for Plan C, the fastest service tier, which offers 1000 Mbps download and 1000 Mbps upload for $80 a month. Plan B, meanwhile, offers 100 download and 100 upload Mbps for $45 per month. With both plans, customers can have the one-time activation fee of $350 waived by signing a one-year contract.

If both of those options sound too pricey, Seattle customers can opt for Plan A, which offers 5 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload for free for the first five years, after the $350 installation fee. After 60 months, users on this tier can convert to a 10 Mbps download/10Mbps upload plan for $10 per month.

Though $80 a month might sound like a lot, it's actually cheaper than what some in the area are currently paying for Comcast Internet, according to The Seattle Times. The cable giant charges around $105 per month for its fastest residential service in Seattle.

Gigabit Squared promised its fiber broadband services will be 50 to 1,000 times faster than the typical cable modem or DSL Internet services. Unlike most other Internet services, Gigiabit Squared's offering will boast equal upstream and downstream data rates, which should enable two-way sharing of video, audio, images, and other large files in real time, the company said.

"We are excited about the limitless possibilities our network can bring to the residents located in these areas and are confident that the affordability and high speed performance of our fiber network will be well received," Mark Ansboury, president of Gigabit Squared, said in a statement. "We will be providing our customers with significantly greater speed and accessibility than what’s out there today for about the same price…a true value."

Since the initiative was announced in December, thousands of Emerald City residents have expressed interest in the service, the developer said. Gigabit Squared will launch a sign-up process next month, then prioritize a neighborhood rollout schedule based on pre-registrations.

Seattle was the second city chosen for Gigabit Squared's multi-million dollar Gigabit Neighborhood Gateway Program, which aims to bring gigabit Internet to six selected university communities across the country. The Seattle project will begin with a "demonstration" fiber network for more than 50,000 households and businesses in 12 Seattle neighborhoods.

Following the initial rollout, Gigabit Seattle hopes to place fiber transmitters on top of 38 buildings across the city, effectively creating a dedicated gigabit broadband wireless "umbrella" covering the city.

Further Reading

Networking Reviews