US Internet revealed that it has launched the fastest Internet connection in the world to the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. While the verification of the claim is difficult, the connection is definitely the fastest broadband connection being offered in the United States.
US Internet is offering a 10 Gbps fiber connection to residents and businesses within its coverage area, as the company is based just to the west of Minneapolis.
The 10 Gbps speed of the broadband connection, which will be for both downloading an uploading, is over 300 times faster compared to the average connection speeds in the United States, which is currently 30 Mbps according to Ookla.
Verizon and Google are both testing 10 Gbps connection speeds, but neither company has made the technology available to consumers. It seems that US Internet has beaten both major tech companies in introducing the breakthrough technology, albeit to a very limited market.
"With our new fiber network, we have redefined what is considered broadband Internet and taken our speed capabilities to next-gen levels, resulting in the fastest Internet service the world has ever seen for home users," said US Internet co-CEO Joe Caldwell.
The 10 Gbps connection will not come cheap though, as the service will cost a monthly fee of $399. This is a significant increase compared to the next option for US Internet customers, which is a 1 Gbps fiber connection for $65 per month.
However, for customers living in Minneapolis, the only other options for Internet providers are Comcast and Century Link, both of which do not offer connections anywhere near as fast as what US Internet is offering. Both companies don't offer fiber connections at all.
Customers included in the coverage area that are willing to pay for the massive Internet speed upgrade will have to wait though. The technology being used for the 10 Gbps connection is fiber technology, homes and buildings are required to be wired in a unique way, as the connection is not as simple as plugging in wires to a box.
The issue lies in the installation process of the fiber technology due to the frozen ground of the city, which is where the fiber wire needs to pass through. According to US Internet, orders for 10 Gbps connections may only be completed by Spring of 2015 when the frozen ground thaws. The company added that connection requests not completed due to the frozen ground will receive priority one Spring comes around.
This means that currently, only US Internet customers already on the 1 Gbps fiber connection can immediately access 10 Gbps speeds.
The wait seems to be worth it though, as Caldwell likens the upgrade to "going from 30 to 10,000 miles per hour."
