Bermuda CableVision’s new ultra high-speed residential internet service is now available — making it the first company on the Island to offer the service.The offering comes slightly sooner than the company had expected.The new Broadband Link internet service, as its called, offers speeds of 15 Mbps (megabits per second, a measure of data transfer speed) for $90 a month and 25 Mbps for $140 a month.The higher speeds are significantly greater than what is currently available to residents. Right now, the maximum speeds offered to residential users are downloads of 10 Mbps and uploads 1 Mbps.Both new speeds are now available island-wide and are the fastest residential speeds offered to date by Bermuda CableVision or any other broadband provider.CableVision says there is real demand for faster service in Bermuda.“Power users, families in connected homes with numerous devices, geeks, gamers and anyone who craves more speed, will appreciate these new Broadband Link services,” said Terry Roberson, general manager of Bermuda CableVision.“These speeds enable users to do all the things they enjoy online, even if the entire household is engaged in activity at the same time. Whether it’s downloading movies and music, exchanging photos and video, using online applications, streaming video or navigating the web at lightning speed, it’s a new day in Bermuda and we’re excited to be a part of it!”At the current speed, it can take over an hour on average to download a 4GB-6GB movie. At 25 Mbps, it will take about 25 minutes.Jake Simon, Bermuda CableVisions’s chief technology officer says while this is a major milestone for the company, CableVision is in a position to offer even faster broadband speeds in the not-so-distant future.“With the deployment of our recent technology upgrades, we have been testing — and obtaining — speeds in excess of 150 Mb over high-speed cable modems,” he said.Very high speeds in this range are increasingly in demand among internet users, whose broadband needs continue to grow. The new speeds are targeted at customers who want to enjoy faster browsing of the internet; accelerated downloading of documents, photographs, videos and other large files; streaming video; online videoconferencing with friends and family; online gaming, including multiplayer games; and any applications which are highly interactive.CableVision says customers interested in signing up for the new service can do so through their website, www.cablevision.bm or by contacting their local ISP regarding pricing and service offerings.The new 15 and 25 high-speed services do require the use of a new CISCO DOCSIS 3.0 modem, which can be purchased from Bermuda CableVision for $80, and in some instances subscribers may need to upgrade their home wireless router for these higher speeds. Installation fees are the same as other modem installations — $50 for existing subscribers and $100 for new subscribers.