MidCo bumps top internet speed to 100 Mbps

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Sioux Falls – Midcontinent Communications launched a major internet speed upgrade with MidcoNet Xstream Wideband Internet service on Thursday. The move will deliver unprecedented speed and capacity to more than 250,000 residential MidCo customers. The service offers up to 100 Mbps downloads and 15 Mbps uploads, speeds unmatched in the three-state area Midcontinent serves. The average internet speed in the region is 3 Mbps, considered the minimum needed to deliver uninterrupted online video.

The company notes increasing demand for online gaming and streaming video behind the move. In a press release, MidCo credits "technology upgrades" for allowing them to provide the higher speeds, saying the telecommunications company switched its internet signal from analog to digital.

MidcoNet Xstream Wideband 3.0 delivers two times faster download speeds and three times faster upload speeds than MidcoNet Ultimate Broadband, previously Midcontinent's highest level of service.

Three tiers of service will be available to fit customers' needs:MidcoNet Xstream Wideband 3.0 will offer up to 100 Mbps downloads and 15 Mbps uploads

MidcoNet Xstream Wideband 2.0 will offer up to 50 Mbps downloads and 10 Mbps uploads

MidcoNet Xstream Wideband 1.0 will offer up to 30 Mbps downloads and 5 Mbps uploads.

Some neighborhoods will get speeds up to 300 Mpbs.

"The rate of Internet usage increased 116 percent last year and has increased more than 300 percent since 2009," says Pat McAdaragh, president and CEO of Midcontinent Communications. "The demand for streaming online content is skyrocketing. Speed is important, but with multiple devices connected to the Internet, capacity is essential. MidcoNet Xstream Wideband delivers both the speed and capacity necessary to meet our customers' needs, now and for years to come."

"MidcoNet Xstream Wideband is ultimately a shift in technology," said Jon Pederson, vice president of technology at Midcontinent Communications. "Data expansion provides the capacity and speed necessary to view rich Internet content, from streaming video to online gaming, concurrently on multiple devices throughout the home."

For the past nine months, Midcontinent Communications has converted its cable system from analog to digital, clearing the way for data expansion. Digital takes up one-tenth of the bandwidth used by analog, leaving more room to transfer data. By adopting channel bonding technology, Midcontinent has created eight times the space previously available for data.

Technology upgrades translate into download speeds of up to 100 Mbps in an area where 3 Mbps is the average. The network's low latency enhances gaming, VPN connections and movie streaming for customers. Faster upload speeds move online activities, such as stock trading and video conferencing closer to real-time. Increased upload speeds also decrease wait times for online file storage and photo uploading.

In addition, fans will now have access to ESPN3.com, ESPN's 24/7 broadband sports network, which offers more than 3,500 live, global sports events annually.

It is available at no cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet service from Midcontinent. Fans can toggle between up to 20 events in a main viewing window, and with a single click, jump to another event. Video can be viewed in widescreen (16:9) and normal (4:3) views and can be expanded to full screen or reduced to a compact size. Recently completed events are archived and available for on-demand replay.

Tags: news, updates, telecommunications, midcontinent, internet, technology