Qwest rolls out 40Mbps VDSL2 service

Qwest is offering a VDSL2 Internet service that the company says will provide maximum download speeds of 40Mbps and maximum upload speeds of 20Mbps.

Qwest is offering the service initially in Denver, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and Tucson, Ariz., and the company says it will roll out the services in 23 additional markets within the next few months. Customers can purchase a connection of 40Mbps downstream and 5Mbps upstream starting at $99.99 a month or a connection of 40Mbps downstream and 20Mbps upstream starting at $109 per month, the company says.

VDSL2 is the most advanced standard of DSL technology available in the United States. Qwest has become the second major telecom carrier to incorporate VDSL2 technology into its Internet service packages, as AT&T has deployed VDSL2 equipment as part of its U-verse services.

With an advertized download speed of 40Mbps, the VDSL service is the fastest advertised service that Qwest offers. However, Qwest says that its users should expect that download speeds "will be up to 15% lower due to network requirements and may vary for reasons such as customer location, Web sites accessed, Internet congestion and customer equipment."

Independent surveys have found that average speeds for Internet service are often significantly slower than their advertised speeds. Verizon's FiOS service, for instance, is said to offer maximum download speeds of between 15M and 50Mbps. However, an independent survey conducted by PC Magazine found that the Verizon fiber connections in California offered average speeds of around 1.4Mbps.