Cable Bahamas Ltd announced today that it has implemented a network-wide increase in upload speeds for all residential REVON broadband Internet subscribers in The Bahamas. The historic increase in upload speeds marks the first time such a boost has happened since broadband was first introduced in The Bahamas by Cable Bahamas in 2000.
Cable Bahamas has also implemented a 33% increase in download speed for REVON Charge broadband subscribers, moving from 15Mb/s to 20Mb/s, once again establishing a new standard in broadband Internet access for The Bahamas.
Upload speed increases range from 400% to 700% over the previously provided speeds. The company's new speed offerings are as follows:
REVON Charge: up to 20Mb/s download & 2Mb/s upload
REVON Boost: up to 30Mb/s download & 3Mb/s upload
REVON Velocity: up to 50Mb/s download & 5Mb/s upload
REVON Extreme: up to 70Mb/s download & 7Mb/s upload
"This historic increase in speeds is something we're very proud of," said Cable Bahamas Head of Marketing David Burrows. "Our engineering and IT teams have been working for the past two years to fine tune and test our network to ensure that we didn't just make promises about something we would like to do, but that we actually deliver the increase in speeds that we are announcing today.
Cable Bahamas Head of Marketing David Burrows PHOTO: Courtesy of BahamasLocal.com
The 100% Bahamian-owned telecommunications provider also announced a new promotional price of $19.99 per month for the first six months for first-time subscribers to REVON Charge. New subscribers also receive a free cable modem and free installation, representing a savings of $260 in the first year.
"As a result of the increased upload speeds, all of our subscribers will see a very real improvement to the overall experience of their broadband service," Mr Burrows stated.
While the majority of Internet traffic is downstream towards the customer, Mr Burrows explained that upload speed is critical for specific online activities and something the company's customers have been asking for.
"Uploads speeds are most notably important when doing things such as uploading photos and videos to sites like Facebook and YouTube, playing multiplayer online games, syncing with cloud services like Dropbox or using online backup services, and when sending large attachments via e-mail," Mr Burrows explained.
Cable Bahamas' 33% increase in download speeds for REVON Charge subscribers brings the new download speed to 20Mb/s. This significant increase makes REVON Charge the fastest entry-level broadband speed available in The Bahamas, and on par with speeds offered by North American Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
To receive the new download speed of up to 20Mb/s, existing REVON Charge subscribers will need to upgrade their cable modem to a newer technology DOCSIS 3.0 model. Cable Bahamas is offering the new modem at a one-time charge of $100, with a $75 rebate for those that have signed up for REVON since October 2013 and purchased a cable modem.
"Cable Bahamas is, by far, the fastest ISP in The Bahamas," Mr Burrows stated. "Our speed increases over the past year have put The Bahamas back in the lead for the fastest broadband from Grand Bahama to the southern tip of South America. Our average download speed is greater than the global average speed by more than 3Mb/s."
Cable Bahamas had a dramatic impact on the national broadband landscape last year in April 2013 when it increased download speeds from 3, 6 and 9Mb/s to 15, 30 and 50Mb/s respectively, and launched a new service level at 70Mb/s. That change moved The Bahamas' national average download speed from 5.53Mb/s to 13.32Mb/s in less than a month.
Mr Burrows bases his speed assertion on the independent speed data collected by global speed testing and diagnostic company Ookla."Ookla's speed testing data [available at http://tinyurl.com/bahamasdownloadspeed] clearly shows that Cable Bahamas delivers a national average download speed of 20.68Mb/s, compared to the DSL provider's national average download speed of only 5.68Mb/s," Mr Burrows explained. "The impact that Cable Bahamas' REVON broadband Internet service has had on The Bahamas is extraordinary."
Cable Bahamas Head of Marketing David Burrows PHOTO: Courtesy of BahamasLocal.com
REFERENCE LINKS:
Bahamas broadband speed results & ISP comparison:
http://explorer.netindex.com/maps?country=Bahamas
Download speed rankings - all countries:
http://www.netindex.com/download/allcountries/
Global broadband performance
http://bit.ly/1l2lU0r
Impact of broadband speed increases on GDP:
http://www.ericsson.com/news/1550083
Detailed study of broadband speed increases on GDP:
http://www.ericsson.com/res/thecompany/docs/corporate-
responsibility/2013/socioeconomic-effect-of-broadband-speed.pdf
About Cable Bahamas Ltd.
Cable Bahamas is the communications provider of choice and the first to offer triple play services in The Bahamas. Services are provided under the REV suite of products including REVOICE, REVON and REVTV covering telephony, Internet and cable TV respectively.
The company has revolutionised every area of business, delivering REVOICE landline phone service at the lowest cost and with the most features in The Bahamas, REVON broadband Internet, which is the fastest in the nation, and REVTV cable TV services that includes more than 500 channels with dozens in HD and thousands of hours of video on demand content. Cable Bahamas serves residential and business customers on 16 islands in The Bahamas.
The company also created the Cable Cares Foundation, which has awarded over $2 million to local Bahamian non-profit organisations since inception. For more information please visit the company website at www.cablebahamas.com, follow on Twitter @cablebahamas or visit the company Facebook page at www.facebook.com/GetRevdUp.
