Posted on: Tuesday, February 1, 2005

Road Runner increases Internet service speed

By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer

Oceanic Time Warner Cable yesterday boosted the speed of its Road Runner high speed Internet service from a maximum of 3 megabits per second to 5 megabits per second — or 5 million bits of information per second.

The higher-speed service is available to all Road Runner subscribers at no additional fee, said Alan Pollock, vice president of marketing for Oceanic.

To upgrade, users must shutdown their computers and turn off their cable modem for about a minute. The upgrade to the faster service should be automatic once everything is switched back on.

The upgrade is one way Oceanic hopes to compete with rivals such as Verizon Hawaii, which offers digital subscriber line broadband Internet service to homes at up to 3 megabits per second.

"We're continually trying to upgrade the product," Pollock said.

The cost of Road Runner ranges from about $45 a month as a stand alone product to $35 a month when bundled with other products.

Verizon's online maximum 3 megabits per second service is only available to customers in certain areas. The service is priced at about $45 a month, or $40 a month with a one-year commitment or as part of a qualifying package of services.

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8093.