Instant downloads and the capability to stream 20 videos at once are some of the benefits of gigabit fiber coming soon to downtown Dayton households, owners of Dayton-based Extra Mile Fiber said.
The new Water Street apartment development will be the first households in the region to be offered the gigabit download and upload speeds.
“It’s going to make it possible for people to simultaneously watch Netflix on multiple devices, or Hulu, or Youtube, as well as doing anything else online that they are going to be doing,” said David Kingston, vice president of business services for Extra Mile Fiber, the company providing the service.
Broadband service at Water Street is just the beginning of Extra Mile Fiber’s plan. The company hopes to expand service to all of Montgomery County and into Greene County within the next year, Kingston said.
“Apartment residents will have the fastest Internet in the region, making the entertainment opportunities for residents second to none. As we look to more growth in downtown housing, we hope to see more developers take advantage of this great local amenity,” said Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.
The average price is $70 for a gigabit download. The company also will have smaller packages at 100 meg and 25 meg download that will be significantly cheaper, Kingston said.
By definition, gigabit fiber is 1,000 Mbps. The average household download speed in the U.S. on Friday was 33.8 Mbps, and in Ohio 21.4 Mbps, according to the OOKLA net index which tests global broadband performance and Internet metrics.
“We took at look at the Google Fiber business model and decided it was something we could do here. We did not need to wait,” Kingston said.
Google Fiber launched gigabit service in select cities including, Austin, Kansas City, and Provo, Utah, with service coming soon to Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, and Raleigh-Durham.
The gigabit fiber availability is expected to bring another plus for those who don’t opt for the service.
“We fully anticipate that AT&T and Time Warner will respond at least initially, we are hoping, with lower rates. We would like to see that competition and the consumer will ultimately benefit,” Kingston said.
Tim Gaffney of Dayton said he wouldn’t necessarily need these high speeds for his home Internet use, but he thinks the service will attract and keep millennials in the Dayton area.
“I think this could be a big incentive for people to stay here. I think as we build our bandwidth here in the community and build our ability to use the latest technology and invent the latest technologies, it will become an exciting place for people to stay and help pioneer Dayton’s future,” Gaffney said.
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