The Eye

Comcast isn’t always my favorite company, but they’re out to change the view amongst many of us as being a slow-poke in the tech stakes.

They are about to demonstrate a technology that delivers up to 160 megabits of data per second: It will allow a user to download a high-definition copy of “Batman Begins” in four minutes. The technology, DOCSIS 3.0, will start rolling out this year.

“If it’s as successful as we hope, in 2009 and beyond we will have it available in millions of homes,” said Comcast CEO, Brian Roberts.

Cable systems largely enable download speeds up to 10 Mbps — compared with up to 50 Mbps from Verizon’s fiber-optic service FiOS.

Now if Verizon FiOS was available here, I’d have already switched to it. Personally I’m only interested in the Internet side of Comcast, although I find the technical aspects of digital television interesting.

In my opinion,  it’ll all be online on demand before too many more years, with even on-air digital disappearing in time let alone the analog services which have a deadline switch off date of February 17 next year in the United States

The US, is, like in much leading edge technology, not leading the pack. Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Finland, Andorra, Sweden and Switzerland are already digital only.

Germany and the UK are already switching off analog transmissions too.