Comcast wants nationwide gigabit Internet by the end of 2018

People want gigabit Internet, this is something that even companies like Comcast can no longer dismiss or ignore. That’s why the company is apparently planning to start a nationwide rollout of its own gigabit Internet service over the next few years. Comcast is looking to bring gigabit Internet speeds to most of the United States by the end of 2018.

Comcast plans to begin 1-gigabit service rollouts later this year, with an eye toward pushing the service nationwide in two to three years, according to a report. The key is the deployment of DOCSIS 3.1, a cable-modem standard that Comcast will begin trialing during the fourth quarter of this year, according to a report by FierceCable. While the DOCSIS 3.1 standard establishes a minimum speed of 1 gbps down, eventually the standard should be able to support speeds of 10 gbps downstream or more. Comcast will also begin supplying its first DOCSIS 3.1 modems next year, the company said. The DOCSIS 3.1 spec itself was ratified in 2013. Additional features include Active Queue Management, a sort of quality-of-service protocol that CableLabs, the spec’s author, promises will minimize delays inside the home and help out with tasks such as online gaming.