Area's first gigabit network launches

CenturyLink Inc. has announced that symmetrical broadband speeds up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) are available to thousands of residential and business customers in Central Florida through the company’s ultra-fast fiber network. This highly advanced fiber technology provides access to the some of the fastest upload and download Internet speeds currently available in the U.S., the company said.

CenturyLink’s 1 Gbps fiber service has launched in select neighborhoods within Orange, Seminole, Lake, Sumter, Osceola and Marion counties, as well as certain business corridors throughout Central Florida. CenturyLink is the only communications provider in Central Florida to offer 1 gigabit per second service.

“In an area that is quickly becoming known as a technology corridor, it’s critical that residents and businesses have leading technology available to them,” Erik Genrich, CenturyLink vice president/general manager for Central Florida, said in a statement. “We chose the Central Florida market for this next-generation technology because the area’s tech-savvy customers demand it.”

The company’s 1 Gbps service is equivalent to 1,000 Mbps — up to 100 times faster than today’s national average broadband speeds of 10 Mbps or less, according to industry studies. These speeds allow users to stream high-definition video content with little to no delays and download movies, songs and TV shows in seconds. Residential customers who have multiple devices connected to one Internet connection in the home will still have more than enough capacity and speed to support other uses of broadband, such as online gaming and home automation systems.

Select businesses throughout central Florida, whether located within multi-tenant unit buildings, strip malls or stand-alone locations, can now benefit from Internet and data network upload and download speeds of up to 1 Gbps to help increase productivity and efficiency while working in the cloud, sharing multimedia files, streaming video content and backing-up data in real-time.

For more information, visit centurylink.com.