Grande Expands 1-Gig Service

Eight months after it was bought by private equity firm TPG Capital, Grande Communications said it will expand its 1-Gigabit per second high-speed Internet service to additional areas within its Texas service territory.

Starting April 25, home and business subscribers in Austin, San Marcos, Dallas, Midland and Odessa will receive access to 1-Gigabit service, with residential pricing starting at $69.99 per month. Interested users can visit mygrande.com/gettagig for more information.
Grande was purchased along with overbuilder RCN by TPG in August for a combined $2.25 billion. Grande first began delivering 1-Gigabit speeds to Texas customers in 2014 – it claims it was the first provider to do so in the state – and expects to expand throughout the rest of its markets in the near future. Corporate sister RCN also has been expanding its 1-Gbps reach, adding Boston to its list of available communities last month. 

“The capacity provided by 1 Gigabit is massive, and it more than keeps up with the explosive growth of Internet usage,” said Grande senior vice president of operations and general manager Matt Rohre in a statement. “Year-over-year internet usage is increasing 35%-50% and the average home now has 7.8 internet-connected devices, which represents an increase of 64 million devices over the past year alone. This continued trend confirms that DOCSIS 3.1 is a critical technology for the future, enabling not only Gigabit internet speeds, but also future enhancements such as IP video and other advanced services. Grande remains committed to staying at the forefront of innovation to offer customers the fastest speeds, increased reliability and the best customer experience.”