Broadband debut in Santa Rosa

Comcast Corp. finished upgrading its antiquated Santa Rosa cable network on Thursday, offering customers more TV channels, faster Internet connections and a new option for telephone service.

The debut of the broadband network will trigger rate hikes for most Comcast subscribers, with prices jumping as much as 27 percent.

It marks the latest salvo in a battle between Comcast and rival AT&T, which are vying to sign up customers for bundled TV, Internet and phone service.

Last year, AT&T began rolling out its next-generation U-verse system in parts of Santa Rosa, offering TV and high-speed Internet service over telephone lines.

Comcast beat AT&T in the race to deploy Santa Rosa's first broadband network, finishing its upgrade a month ahead of schedule, said Bryan Byrd, a company spokesman.

About 175 Comcast employees and contractors began connecting neighborhoods to the new network last December. Workers installed 182 miles of new fiber optic cables to the 770-mile network's core, made up of fiber optic and co-axial cables, Byrd said.

The project was not without glitches. The upgrade caused widespread Internet and TV outages across the city -- some longer than a week. About 1,780 homes still don't have access to Comcast's new telephone service, Byrd said.

The new network allows Comcast to begin marketing its telephone service in Santa Rosa, opening a new era of competition to deliver phone, TV and Internet service to the city's residents.

"Comcast's upgrade has turbo-charged the existing network infrastructure," said Paul Gibson, the cable provider's North Bay vice president.

The lineup also includes more channels of high-definition, international and pay-per-view programming.

Some analog FM radio channels are no longer available, including KBBF 89.1, KFGY 92.9, KRSH 95.9 and KXFX 102.5, but Comcast has added 30 digital FM channels, including KOIT 96.5, KFOG 104.5, KMEL 106.1 and KSAN 107.7. Subscribers must have a digital receiver to access the programming.

The upgrade allows Comcast to deliver 125 new channels and video-on-demand programming, features that have been available in other Sonoma County cities for years.

Comcast subscribers will pay more for the expanded service. In Santa Rosa, the cost of basic cable is increasing from $30.92 to $39.42. Standard cable rises from $48.99 to $55.99, and digital cable goes from $53.50 to $56.99.

However the rates for its lowest cable offering, limited basic, is decreasing by $1.50 to $16.57. Cable prices have jumped about 59 percent across Sonoma County since 2001 -- more than triple the pace of inflation.

Comcast would not disclose the number of its customers in Santa Rosa or the exact cost of the upgrade.

You can reach Staff Writer Steve Hart at 521-5205 or steve.hart@pressdemocrat.com.