FLOW has once again increased Internet broadband speeds for its residents without hiking the price of the service.

This month, the telecommunications provider, which also provides subscriber television and landline phone services, upped residential Internet speeds of eight megabits per second (Mbps) and 15 Mbps to 12 Mbps and 20 Mbps respectively.

At the same time, Flow said, in a press statement issued yesterday, that it will maintain the existing rates at $2,450 and $3,200 (not inclusive of GCT) for the two service packages.

“The upgrade to 12 and 20 Mbps respectively, allows Flow to create even more distance between our offerings and anything available in the market today,” said Michele English, Flow’s president and chief operation officer. “Flow’s technology means that we can activate the upgrade with just a flick of a switch. Existing Flow customers do not need to do anything. They just wake up on Friday morning and start enjoying even faster Internet speeds”.

In July 2008, Flow increased the top speed from eight Mbps to 15 Mbps.

Since its launch in 2006, Flow says it has invested over US$250 million to develop its broadband infrastructure.

According to English, it is this network that sets Flow apart from other providers.

“Flow introduced true broadband to Jamaica, and, for the first time, offered Jamaica a real alternative for both International and on-Island data connectivity and reduced costs by as much as 98 per cent,” she said. “Today, Flow continues to be the first choice for both consumers and businesses that rely on this technology.”

English also noted that the significant free increase in Internet speed follows a series of other innovations from Flow for their customers.

These include a Flow On Demand service that allows customers to select what they want from a large library of movies, music and television shows, at any time they desire; a Bill View on TV service where customers can access billing information right on their television; and ‘Caller ID on TV’ where notification of incoming calls on the Flow network are displayed on the customer’s television.

“All of these innovations are possible because of our superior network,” said English. “Unlike wireless broadband providers of 3G and 4G, Flow is not hindered by capacity, speed or poor latency issues, which are more typical of the wireless technologies. Our network allows users to experience faster download speeds and faster streaming — you can watch high-definition movies from your PC, without the delays or constant buffering or enjoy online games and applications that require large bandwidths. These are some of the benefits of a true broadband network, qualifies English, this is the power of Flow’s technology.

Flow said that an increasing number of customers are demanding higher broadband speeds as some Internet-based applications requiring download speeds as high as 100 Mbps have already emerged, even though those are not yet commonplace.

“Flow’s technology is already capable of exceeding these requirements,” Flow’s statement added.