The Internet is a big place. Currently, there are about 4.49 billion webpages on the Internet. To help put this in context, Google — the biggest search engine out there with a market share of about 68% — has only indexed about 0.004% of the web. If you decided that you wanted to set out and explore every nook and cranny of sprawling cyberspace, Comcast’s superfast Internet could help that exploration go a little faster.
The only trouble is that it’s jaw-droppingly expensive.
Comcast’s new Xfinity Gigabit Pro Internet service is rolling out in a few select markets. It offers users Internet speeds of 2 gigabites per second. That’s about 100 times faster than standard broadband, and twice as fast as Google Fiber.
Those who’d like to try the hyper-fast Internet service need to sign a mandatory two-year contract, and pay over $4,000 a year. The service is listed at a price of $299.95 per month, and customers are also subject to an installation fee of up to $500, and an activation fee of up to $500. Equipment, taxes, and fees, and other applicable charges also apply, too.
Oh, and if you want to get out of the contract early, there’s an undisclosed early termination fee.
When all is said and done, the Xfinity Gigabit Pro Internet service adds up to $8,000 over the course of two years.
As if that wasn’t rough enough, installation could take six to eight weeks.
To be fair, two gigabites per second is seriously fast, so the price may arguably be justified depending on who you talk to and what it is be used for. Or at least it might be, if Comcast hadn’t noted when announcing the pricing plan that “Actual speeds vary and are not guaranteed.”
Google, on the other hand, offers its own super-fast Internet service Fiber, which is only half as fast as Comcast’s but priced much lower, at $70 a month.
