SPRINGDALE — Northwest Arkansas just took one step closer to getting Internet speeds at home that can download 100 songs in 3 seconds or 10 high-definition movies in seven minutes.
Cox Communications rolled out its Gigablast Internet service at The Trails at Bentonville, its first Arkansas residential gigabit installation. Cox is the first Internet provider to offer residential gigabit service in Northwest Arkansas.
Speeds of 1 gigabit per second are about 100 times faster than the average highspeed Internet connection, according to the Federal Communications Commission. It’s about 1,000 times faster for uploading.
Jon Cadieux, managing director and founder of 455 Media Group in Bentonville, said the world is rapidly moving toward the Internet of Things, a proposed development of the Internet in which everyday objects have network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data.
He said the sky is the limit on what could utilize connectivity, including thermostats, sensors on grain elevators, animal tracking implants, cars and televisions.
The Internet of Things can only be successful if the data infrastructure can support the billions of devices that will be online in the coming years, he said.
He said some estimates put the Internet of Things global impact in the trillions of dollars over the next 20 years. Cadieux is also the founder of the NWA Technology Council.
A report by McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, predicts the Internet of Things could have a total economic impact of $3.9 trillion to $11.1 trillion a year in 2025. Approximately two-thirds of the value generated in business-to-business settings, meaning companies will need connected systems that can work together such as improving supply-chain efficiency.
“So being one of the first regions, not only in Arkansas, but in the country, to get these huge data speeds is very significant to our region’s economy, our workforce and our lifestyles,” Cadieux wrote in an email. “This is going to create many opportunities for those individuals and companies ready and willing to head down this new path.”
Cox started its 1-gig residential Internet service late last year in Phoenix and has expanded to other metropolitan areas including San Diego, Las Vegas and Baton Rouge. Bruce Berkinshaw, Cox director of product operations, said about 3,000 customers nationwide have the service. He said 20 residents of The Trails have signed on for the service. Cox will add Gigablast to additional Arkansas neighborhoods over the next several years, he said.
Berkinshaw said the number of people needing that high a speed might not be many now, but that is changing quickly.
“We are preparing for the future,” he said.
AT&T launched GigaPower in Austin in 2013 and the service now available in 15 major metropolitan areas nationwide. Anita Smith, AT&T spokeswoman for Arkansas said the company plans to bring the program to Arkansas, but she could not provide a timeline.
Comcast, the nation’s largest Internet service provider, announced earlier this year plans to offer speeds of up to 2 gigabits per second about 18 million homes by the end of the year.
The FCC reports the national average subscribed speed last year was 21.2 megabits per second, up from an average of 15.6 megabits per second in 2012.
The increasing speed prompted the FCC earlier this year to change the definition of broadband, or high-speed Internet, to 25 megabits per second or higher, up from the old standard of 4 megabits per second.
The National Broadband Map, a program of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, shows 85 percent of Northwest Arkansas residents can purchase broadband with download speeds of more than 100 megabits per second. The area’s average residential download speed was 8.4 megabits per second.
Joe Molinaro, executive director of the Arkansas Cable Telecommunications Association, said the cable industry has been working on gigabit service for years.
“It is offered in a lot of areas to businesses, and as technology has improved, it has made it more possible for cable customers to offer it to residential customers,” he said.
Cox has offered gigabit speeds to businesses for more than 10 years.
Berkinshaw said it takes time to install the needed fiber optic networks into residential neighborhoods. Most home Internet service is run through coaxial cables. He said Cox is starting Gigablast in new construction areas where it can more easily and cheaply lay down the fiber lines.
“It is more expensive to lay fiber, but the cost of fiber is incrementally declining,” he said. “Apartments are easiest for use because you have more users at one point.”
The Trails at Bentonville, managed by the Lindsey Management Co., is a 486-unit complex that is still under construction, said Lewel Mc-Cutcheon, Lindsey Management vice president of marketing. The first apartment opened last month, 288 units are open, with 54 becoming available Monday. The remaining 144 units will be open by Nov. 1.
Berkinshaw said 162 residents are Cox customers, 130 have high-speed Internet.
Barb Maupin is one of the 20 residents with the 1 gigabit service. She said it allows her to keep her job with a financial services firm in San Antonio. She moved to Bentonville with her husband, Tony, in August after he took a job at Wal-Mart.
Maupin said she helps build online, computer-based training programs and hosts some of the online training sessions.
“That process can really zap your Internet,” she said. “It’s all about the reliability of connectivity. “
Gigablast costs $99 per month. Berkinshaw said 70 percent of Cox Internet customers have the preferred service with 50 megabits per second download speed that costs $60 a month. Cox also offers an ultimate speed of 150 megabits per second that costs $99; speeds will increase to 200 megabits on Oct. 12.
Arkansas Internet
Numbers are for Internet access in Arkansas
• 48th most connected state
• 49 percent broadband coverage
• 26 percent population underserved
• 58.5 percent have access to wired broadband 25 megabits per second or faster
• 36.6 percent have access to broadband 100 megabits per second or faster
• 2.3 percent have access to 1 gigabit broadband
• 92.3 percent have access to wireline service
• 82 broadband providers
• 13 broadband providers in Fayetteville
• 11 broadband providers in Bentonville
• 10 broadband providers in Rogers and Springdale
Source: Staff report
Christie Swanson can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAChristie.
A report by McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, predicts the Internet of Things could have a total economic impact of $3.9 trillion to $11.1 trillion a year in 2025. Approximately two-thirds of the value generated in business-to-business settings, meaning companies will need connected systems that can work together such as improving supplychain efficiency.