Yesterday Comcast brought out its higher-speed Internet service for the Bay Area and the Monterey area. Comcast launched its “Wideband” service offering Internet speed as high as 50Mbps for downloads and 10Mbps for upstream, for the San Francisco Bay Area.

According to Comcast, its higher-speed Internet “Wideband” service, launched on Tuesday, will now help its customers to download a high-definition movie in 16 minutes or a standard definition movie in about 5 minutes.

The United States’ second largest Internet service provider, Comcast stated that the higher-speed Internet service will revolutionize its customers’ internet usage. 

In a statement, the senior vice president of Comcast's California region, Steve White said, "Wideband utilizes our existing fiber-optic network in neighborhoods across our footprint. With this next generation of service, our customers' online experience is dramatically enhanced."

Comcast stated that initially the “Wideband” service has been commenced for the residential customers from San Jose and Silicon Valley, portions of the Easy Bay, much of Contra Costa County and the Tri-Valley, and the Monterey-Salinas area. The service will rolled out for the Business customers on March 10. The service will be launched in the other parts of the Bay Area, including San Francisco, later this year.  

Comcast elaborated that for residential customers, the “Wideband” service is available in two tiers – Ultra and Extreme 50. The “Ultra” service will offer up to 22 Mbits/s of downstream speed and up to 5 Mbps of upstream speed for $62.95 per month, and the “Extreme 50” service will provide up to 50 Mbps of downstream and 10 Mbps of upstream for $139.95 per month.

Comcast clarified that the residential prices only apply to customers who also receive Comcast cable service. The service provider stated that the current customers in the area can upgrade their service by getting a new modem.

“Wideband” was first announced by Comcast at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show. In April, the service was first rolled out for the customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul. In late October, the service was commenced Boston, southern New Hampshire, and areas of Philadelphia and New Jersey, and the service was triggered in Oregon and southwest Washington State in December.