Cox is rolling out gigabit internet in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Omaha

Cable company Cox Communications says it plans to boost Internet download speeds to 1 gigabit per second starting in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Omaha, late this year. That is dozens of times faster than typical broadband plans. The move will bring its service in line with Google’s fiber rollout in cities such as Kansas City, Provo, and Austin; as well as an AT&T rollout in Austin. Cox also said it plans to add 1 Gbps Internet speed to any new residential construction project in its footprint nationwide in places such as San Diego, Providence, Orange County, Baton Rouge, and Tucson.

Bandwidth-hungry internet users can register a few new cities as potentially acceptable places to live. Following Google Fiber and AT&T, Cox Communications is one of the first big cable companies to announce plans for internet service at gigabit speeds, and the initial areas on its list are Phoenix, Las Vegas and Omaha. It’s also extending its WiFi hotspot program to Phoenix and Las Vegas, and promises the high speed connections will both to neighborhoods and “select” new condo or apartment developments. If you have Cox but don’t live in those areas you’re not entirely out of luck, since it’s also cranking up the speeds on its existing tiers this year. The Preferred tier will go from 25Mbps to 50Mbps, while its high speed internet service is going from 50Mbps to 100Mbps. The bad news? The gigabit rollout could take a while, since the company is only saying it will begin rolling out these speeds in all of its markets by the end of 2016.