Comcast Launches DOCSIS 3.0 In New England - Though Comcast has yet to officially actually tell anybody...

On Monday we were the first to report that Comcast was getting very close to launching new 22Mbps/5Mbps and 50Mbps/10Mbps DOCSIS 3.0 speeds in a handful of new markets. While insiders I've spoken to kept repeating October 30 as a potential launch date for several markets, I'm now hearing that parts of New England are now up and running on the DOCSIS 3.0 network as of today.

Comcast's Metro Boston, Twin Cities, Northern New England and Southern Massachusetts are completely upgraded, and some customers in our forums say they're not only seeing the new speeds, they're now showing up on Comcast ordering systems. As we reported, in addition to the faster DOC 3.0 tiers, existing tiers are seeing double the speeds at no cost:

I am in Massachusetts and I can confirm that the new speeds showed up last night. My modem's provisioned rate went from 8800/2200 to 17600/2000 after a restart this morning and a quick check of the ordering page shows that the new DOCSIS 3.0 speed tiers are available for ordering now.

Apparently Comcast's website for ordering the new tiers in New England has also gone live, which suggests we've exited the testing phase and have entered commercial launch. Another customer confirms that, at least in New England, the prices will be as we exclusively reported on Monday:

Same here in MetroWest MA, both on the modem and on the ordering site.

Options are:
Performance (12, boost to 15)- $42.95
Blast (16, boost to 20)- $52.95
Ultra (22, boost to 30)- $62.95 + $3 modem
Extreme 50 (50)- $139.95 + $3 modem

According insiders familiar with Comcast's upgrade plan, Comcast is circulating internal communications saying Comcast "is announcing our new faster Internet speeds to the national press," though Comcast's PR department is so far remaining quiet on the news. I spoke briefly with Comcast yesterday and was told I'd get a call back soon with more details on DOCSIS 3.0 launches, though that has yet to happen. They're apparently dotting i's and crossing t's.

It's clear that many of you won't have long to wait.

Update: Looks like a pre-qual for the faster DOCSIS 3.0 tiers has also gone live.

Update 2: Comcast finally issued a press release this afternoon:

In the next few weeks, Comcast’s new services will be available to millions of residential homes and businesses in parts of New England, including the Boston Metropolitan region and Southern New Hampshire, as well as areas of Philadelphia and New Jersey. These services also will be available in the Twin Cities where wideband was launched earlier this year. Comcast plans to continue to roll out wideband across its footprint and expects to reach more than 10 major markets and pass nearly 10 million homes and businesses in the next several months.