Suddenlink Communications announced today it has increased speeds of some existing services in Kingwood, at no additional cost to customers, and also launched a new high speed Internet service option.

Services with download speeds up to 1 and 8 Megabits per second (Mbps) have been increased to up to 1.5 and 10 Mbps, respectively, and been renamed accordingly:  Suddenlink High Speed Internet 1.5 and 10.0. The company also today launched its new Suddenlink High Speed Internet 15.0 service.

Customers subscribing to the 10.0 and 15.0 packages will enjoy faster upload speeds, up to 1 Mbps and up to 1.5 Mbps, respectively.

Last month Suddenlink introduced its new High Speed Internet MAX 20.0 service in this area.  That service offers a download speed of up to 20 Mbps and an upload speed of up to 2 Mbps.  This service is the fastest in the area, and is made possible by Suddenlink’s deployment of cutting-edge industry technology called DOCSIS 3.0.  Suddenlink believes it is the only Internet service provider using this technology in its local service area.

Occasionally, MAX 20.0 customers may notice download speeds faster than 20 Mbps, thanks to a new technology the company has deployed at no extra cost to them. 

That new technology runs a rotating cycle of random “surveys” or “pings” across the modems of Suddenlink MAX 20.0 customers.  If extra bandwidth is available, the new technology will automatically provide a portion of the extra bandwidth to the surveyed modem, resulting in a temporary “boost” of download speed, up to 40 Mbps total, thus allowing the modem to more quickly and efficiently complete its work. Suddenlink cautioned that the frequency and level of individual customer “boosts” would depend on a number of factors, such as when each customer’s modem is surveyed by the automatic process and the available bandwidth at the time the modem is surveyed. 

All Suddenlink High Speed Internet services include up to 10 e-mail addresses, access to e-mail via WebMail, personal WebSpace and Spam Blocker.  Suddenlink High Speed Internet 10.0, 15.0 and MAX 20.0 services include a security suite with parental controls, anti-spyware, anti-virus, firewall and pop-up blocker at no additional cost.  Technical support services will continue to available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

These new services are early results of a new nationwide investment program calling for $350 million of capital investments above and beyond the company’s traditional capital spending levels. 

More information about local Suddenlink services is available by visiting the company’s Web site (www.suddenlink.com) and entering a zip code, or by visiting Suddenlink’s local customer care office.

Suddenlink Communications (www.suddenlink.com) is among the 10 largest cable broadband companies in the United States, supporting the information, communication and entertainment demands of approximately 1.3 million residential customers and thousands of commercial customers in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia, and elsewhere. Suddenlink simplifies its customers’ lives through one call for support, one connection, and one bill for TV, Internet, phone, and other services.