Mediacom Communications said it has begun to offer 1-Gig speeds to residential and business customers in Illinois as the MSO proceeds with its ambitious DOCSIS 3.1 rollout.

Mediacom said it has launched the service to more than 275 small cities and downs in the state passed by its HFC network, with another 70 communities to be added to the list over the next two months.

Mediacom upgraded its network to D3.1 last year and is now in the process of launching services that take advantage of the multi-gig-capable platform for HFC networks and eventually reach 3 million homes and businesses in its 22 state footprint. Mediacom has pushed ahead with 1-Gig launches in parts of Georgia, Minnesota, Huntsville, Ala., southern Tennessee, and Iowa.

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In all, Mediacom said it has deployed 1 Gig services to more than 800 communities. It’s also introducing a new 500 Mbps tier of service in those markets.

In its initial D3.1 launch markets, Mediacom has been selling a 1-Gig (downstream) service, paired with upstream speeds up to 50 Mbps, at $139.99 per month as a standalone, with a “promotional package offers” that will also be announced at a later date. Mediacom’s DOCSIS 3.1-based 1-Gig offering comes with a monthly data limit of 6 terabytes before overage charges are applied ($10 for each additional bucket of 50 GB of usage).

“Since 1996, Mediacom has invested over $8 billion of private capital to acquire, upgrade and expand our national broadband network so that hard-working families throughout the smaller markets we serve receive the same advanced communications services as America’s largest cities,” Todd Curtis, group vice president for Mediacom’s Lincoln Region, said in a statement. “As a result of these investments, Mediacom will be able to offer 1 Gig Internet services to over 400,000 Illinois households and position hundreds of rural communities across the Land of Lincoln at the forefront of America’s transition into the gigabit era.”