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From...
Cable modems go retail
September 28, 1998
Web posted at: 10:30 AM EDT
by David Essex
(IDG) -- The always-on, megabits-per-second throughput of cable modems appears poised for a mass-market breakthrough if this week's rollout by Circuit City of MediaOne modems and service is any indication.
Starting early this week, 17 Circuit City stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire began offering Bay Networks Netgear cable modems ($199) along with $50-off installation kits for hooking up to the Loveland, Colorado-based cable giant's MediaOne Express broadband service. The deal also includes $10 off of normal monthly service fee of $39.95. Until recently, cable modems have usually been sold by cable companies as part of a service and installation package.
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"I think it's going to take off," says Rick Jenkinson, communications director at MediaOne's regional headquarters in Andover, Massachusetts. "New England is a test of a nationwide rollout" that will soon include locations where MediaOne already offers high-speed service, such as Los Angeles, Detroit, Jacksonville, and Ohio--and additional retail chains.
MediaOne is not the first company to collaborate with retail stores. 3Com sells its modems at Best Buy stores in St. Louis and Staples in New York and Pennsylvania. And other hardware and cable vendors such as Motorola and TCI are reportedly planning big retail rollouts. But the MediaOne/Circuit City partnership is the first region-wide deployment, Jenkinson claims.
Today's cable modems have theoretical speeds of up to 10 mbps, roughly 30 times higher than the actual speeds of most standard modems, but actual performance is lower due to network limitations. Jenkinson says MediaOne Express currently operates at 1.5 mbps for downloads, 300 kbps for uploads.