Atlantic Broadband pledges faster Internet speeds, TiVo, Netflix capabilities

QUINCY, Mass. - Atlantic Broadband, the cable operator that acquired MetroCast last Thursday, told The Rochester Voice on Friday that MetroCast customers can expect to see a vast array of improvements in late spring when Atlantic rolls out a "a new suite of enhanced TV, Internet and phone services for residents and businesses that will be offered under the Atlantic Broadband name."

In the meantime, company officials said for the next few months the company will continue to operate under the MetroCast name and that customers will see no changes to their accounts or service.

"Our focus is to have a smooth transition. For example, customers' metrocast.net email addresses will not change," a statement sent to the newspaper stated.

In addition, company officials said all MetroCast employees, including those in Rochester and Sanford, Maine, have been welcomed into the Atlantic Broadband fold, and bills can be paid as they were prior to the switch.

In response to a question regarding potential upgrades that might be unveiled in late spring, Atlantic said among them will be "new, faster Internet speeds for both current and new residential and business Internet customers, including the launch of Gigabit Internet speeds."

For TV cable customers they noted new additions will include TiVo service, "providing live, recorded and on-demand television and web content on any screen, wherever they are" and the ability to record six shows at once, watch live TV or recordings on tablets and smart phones, and get the best of Internet TV fully integrated with services like Netflix, MLB.TV and other platforms.

For larger businesses, Atlantic will be launching a suite of advanced business communication services such as Metro Ethernet, a Hosted Voice cloud phone service, and enhanced WiFi services, according to Friday's statement.

Finally, asked to respond to recent reports of Comcast's intentions to overbuild (when a competing cable provider builds infrastructure to compete in a zone in which a franchise cable agreement already exists) Atlantic responded, "We recognize customers always have a choice in service providers, whether those are satellite, telco or even other cable providers.

"As part of Atlantic Broadband, MetroCast customers and Rochester residents now have the best of all worlds - a company with the resources and desire to deliver top-notch products, but that is small enough to provide a personal and responsive local service experience. Rochester customers will see that Atlantic Broadband has differentiators including our award-winning TiVo offerings, as well as a history of bringing innovative services to market first, as we did with Netflix in 2014.

"And as Rochester gets to know Atlantic Broadband, we look forward to the opportunity to serve even more business and residential customers as we move forward."

Atlantic Broadband, the ninth-largest cable operator nationwide, is a subsidiary of Cogeco Communications of Montreal.

MetroCast currently holds cable franchise agreements in Rochester, Milton and Lebanon, Maine.