50% of Current Spectrum Networks Go Multi-Gig by Q4 2026

Symmetrical and multi-gig speeds are coming to 50% of Spectrum’s current network by the end of 2026, according to Charter Communications President and CEO Christopher Winfrey during the corporate Q4 2025 earnings call. He added that the remaining 50% is in progress and on track to be completed in 2027.

Currently, Spectrum has around 58 million coaxial and fiber passings to homes across 41 states. The company previously said the update cost is estimated to be approximately $100 per household. And while the resulting number can be eye-opening, upgrading existing coaxial networks is far cheaper than replacing them with all-fiber ones.

So, how is Spectrum upgrading cable internet to match fast fiber speeds? Read on to find out.

First, Spectrum’s “Fiber-Powered” claim is spot on

Spectrum has what’s called a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network. Its core network is all fiber, but the “last mile” connected to your home is either a fiber or coaxial cable. The latter is Spectrum’s big focus, given that most residential area installations use coax cables and the associated equipment.

Here’s how a modern coax cable network delivers internet to a home or business:

Step 1: The transmission begins at Spectrum’s local headend as an optical signal.

Step 2: The optical signal uses a fiber connection to travel from the headend to a hub stationed near a fiber node serving a specific area, like a neighborhood.

Step 3: The optical signal uses a fiber connection to travel from the hub to the fiber node.

Step 4: The fiber node converts the optical signal into a radio frequency (RF) signal.

Step 5: The fiber node uses a coaxial connection to transmit the RF signal.

Step 6: An amplifier receives the RF signal.

Step 7: The amplifier retransmits the strengthened RF signal using a coaxial connection. Rinse and repeat for each amplifier in the journey to the customer.

Step 8: The customer’s cable modem receives the RF signal and converts it to Ethernet data for the connected router to use.

So, yes, Spectrum Internet is powered by fiber, and in some cases, it’s all fiber, depending on where you live. One neighborhood may have an all-coaxial design, while another neighborhood a few miles up the road may be all fiber. Newer neighborhoods will have all fiber, while older ones usually retain their coax lines.

Now, let’s look at what’s needed to make cable internet work.

DOCSIS is the “language” for cable internet

Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) is an international standard that specifies how Spectrum and other cable internet providers use vacant cable TV channels to receive and transmit internet data across existing coaxial networks. The standard was first introduced in 1996, defining the max download and upload speeds as 40Mbps and 10Mbps, respectfully.

The DOCSIS 3.1 standard arrived in 2013 and is the most commonly used specification today. Most DOCSIS 3.1 modem configurations cap at 5Gbps downstream and 1.7Gbps upstream, even though the specification calls for a 10Gbps downstream maximum. Plus, models like the Spectrum D3.1 eMTA DOCSIS 3.1 Advanced Voice Modem (PDF) feature a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet internet port, so they’re not suitable for cable internet plans over 2Gbps anyway.

The latest DOCSIS 4.0 specification arrived in 2019, but designs based on the specification are just now rearing their heads. The theoretical max speeds are 10Gbps down and 6Gbps up, meaning compatible modems can deliver symmetrical 6Gbps cable internet speeds. Here are a few examples of DOCSIS 4.0 modems:

• Askey TCG400-v
• Hitron CODA60V

DOCSIS 4.0 modems include a 10 Gigabit Ethernet port, so you’d need a compatible router or mesh system to take advantage of the speed. Most of the Wi-Fi 7 routers and mesh kits I’ve tested include this superfast Ethernet port.

Now that you have an idea of how Spectrum’s cable internet works, let’s see how Spectrum divides your total bandwidth.

Bandwidth split defines the upload and download speed

In the early days of cable internet, providers assumed customers needed more download bandwidth than upload, so they split the bandwidth accordingly. That division still lingers today, although cable internet providers are working to mirror the symmetrical speeds offered with fiber internet.

There are four ways cable internet providers divide the bandwidth. Mid-split is the most current configuration in the wild, but Spectrum and its competitors are now upgrading their networks to use high-split designs. Take a look at the different ways to divide the allocated bandwidth:

What’s notable here is that the infrastructure upgrades are enabling internet providers to allocate more bandwidth per connection. However, as previously stated, Spectrum and its competitors are moving to high-split and ultra high-split designs to enable fiber-like symmetrical speeds.

The diplex filter is a portion of the total bandwidth used to separate the download and upload frequencies, so they don’t interfere with each other.

Now that we have an understanding of how Spectrum divides a connection’s allocated bandwidth, let’s take a look at the different stages of Spectrum’s current upgrade rollout.

Spectrum paves the way to 10Gbps+ internet

So, what is Spectrum’s roadmap to 10Gbps speeds? The company first laid out its plans in December 2022, showing how it will deliver 10Gbps cable internet by the end of 2027.

“There’s a lot of work to be done along the way, such as surveying network equipment and correcting any deficiencies in advance, obtaining and certifying new network equipment, architecture and configurations, upgrading hub equipment, as well as field deployment where millions of devices throughout your neighborhoods need to be replaced,” a representative posted on the Spectrum Discussions board in 2025. “This is the part that’s the most noticeable to you as it does involve interrupting service while equipment is replaced in your local area.”

The post goes on to say that “no customer-owned modem is approved for use with symmetrical or multi-gig service,” but that is factually incorrect. As previously stated, DOCSIS 3.1 modems support:

• 2Gbps asymmetrical wired internet
• 1Gbps and slower symmetrical wired internet

Does Spectrum plan to require customers to use one of its cable modems? We’ll see. Regardless, let’s start with what Spectrum offered before it began the network upgrades.

Typical design before the upgrade

Required modem: DOCSIS 3.1

Max allocated bandwidth: 860 MHz

Max home speed: 1Gbps x 35Mbps

There are roughly five components at play when it comes to cable internet. Take a look:

Headend: A central facility where Spectrum’s backbone network connects to the World Wide Web. It’s where all the main equipment resides to deliver internet to the city.

Hub (or sub-headend): The bridge between the headend and the fiber node. It includes the Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS), which acts like a router that handles all the cable modems distributed in the area. The CMTS is responsible for assigning the public IP address that your home or business router requires to access the internet. One hub can handle up to 70 fiber nodes.

Fiber node: The bridge between the hub and the cable or fiber network serving a specific area, like a neighborhood. One fiber node can handle a network of up to 500 homes (147 homes per coaxial cable mile).

Amp: A device that amplifies radio waves used for cable internet, as the signals degrade over distance. Amps are not used with fiber internet.

Modem: The “edge” device for cable internet that resides in the customer’s home or business. Fiber internet uses a different device called an optical network terminal.

In this scenario, analog radio frequency (RF) signals are translated into optical ones for transmission over a glass-based optical line. These signals are reverted back to analog RF signals in the fiber node for transmission over a copper-based coaxial cable.

Step 1: Gig Symmetrical

Required modem: DOCSIS 3.1

Max allocated bandwidth: 1,200 MHz

Max home speed: 2Gbps x 1Gbps; 1Gbps x 1Gbps

Launch date: 2025

Completion date: 50% in 2026, next 50% in 2027

Here we see Spectrum increase the total per-home bandwidth to 1,200 MHz, enabling 2Gbps download speeds, and symmetrical cable internet for any plan of 1Gbps and slower.

As of Feb. 3, 2026, 15% of Spectrum’s overall footprint completed Step 1—50% is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Here are Spectrum’s listed cities:

• Lexington,
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Louis, Mo.
• Rochester, Y.
• Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
• Louisville, Ky.
• Rochester,
• Reno/Tahoe,

Here are the speeds I found in Cincinnati:

• 2Gbps x 1Gbps
• 1Gbps x 1Gbps
• 500Mbps x 500Mbps
• 100Mbps x 100Mbps

Step 2: 5 Gig

Required modem: DOCSIS 4.0

Max allocated bandwidth: 1,200 MHz

Max home speed: 5Gbps x 1Gbps; 1Gbps x 1Gbps

Launch date: 2026

Completion date: TBD

Winfrey said in the company’s Q2 2025 earnings call that step two is currently underway in 50% of Spectrum’s overall footprint.

In this step, we see Spectrum use a Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) design. It relocates the DOCSIS processing and signal generation to the optical line terminal built into the fiber node, which is closer to the user.

Part of this transition to DAA includes replacing analog equipment with passive fiber equipment. According to CableLabs, the designs it presented to internet providers do the following:

• Reduces power consumption
• Reduces the amount of physical space required to run the local infrastructure
• Reduces speed bottlenecks
• improves signal quality
• Increases capacity

Also, the hub now employs the use of 10 Gigabit Ethernet. So, now instead of translating radio frequency signals into optical pulses, the hub converts electrical Ethernet pulses to optical ones. This translation uses less energy and provides a full digital transmission to and from the remote fiber node.

Step 3: 10 Gig

Required modem: DOCSIS 4.0

Max allocated bandwidth: 1,800 MHz

Max home speed: 10Gbps x 1Gbps; 1Gbps x 1Gbps

Launch date: 2027

Completion date: TBD

This step increases the Ethernet connections to 25Gbps. We also see the bandwidth increase to 1,800 MHz, and the top download speed hits 10Gbps (although 10GbE ports on modems and routers are limited to around 9.4Gbps).

Does this mean we’ll see 25Gbps cable internet? Residential equipment is just now receiving 10Gbps wired support, so modems, routers, and mesh systems with a 25Gbps Ethernet port may not be a thing for years to come.

Speaking of 25Gbps, let’s now take a peek at Spectrum’s on-demand fiber internet service.

Finally, there’s Fiber on Demand

Spectrum provides fiber-to-the-home internet to residential and business customers, typically in newly developed areas where the installation is a fresh build. Spectrum may convert an existing cable internet neighborhood to fiber, but only if funding is available to do so.

Spectrum’s fiber internet customers don’t use the traditional cable modem. Instead, the company provides what’s called the Spectrum Optical Network Unit (PDF). Fiber plan speeds match the cable ones even though the network layout uses different equipment, so whatever plan you choose, it’s either cable or fiber, depending on where you live or work.

The markets I mentioned above do include these fiber-to-the-home connections. However, Spectrum also offers a Fiber on Demand service. Customers can order fiber internet in rural areas and in places where Spectrum has coaxial cable, but the installation can cost thousands upon thousands of dollars, depending on the amount of work technicians need to install the hardware.

Spectrum’s roadmap, laid out in 2022, shows that Fiber on Demand will provide symmetrical speeds of 25Gbps and faster. There’s no need to draw a table with this service, as it’s all passive fiber connections to the premises—no DOCSIS or amplifiers needed. Presumably, a 10Gbps version will be available sometime in 2026, followed by 25Gbps by the end of 2027.

Get Spectrum Fiber-Powered Internet now

If all this multi-gig connectivity sounds exciting and you’re ready to ditch your current slow-as-snails internet provider, Spectrum has plenty to offer. In some areas, like in Cincinnati, Ohio, you’ll see symmetrical speeds up to 1Gbps, along with the 2Gbps plan with a 1Gbps upload speed. Availability squarely depends on your location.

Disclaimers