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Comcast announced today that it will focus on aggressively deploying a DOCSIS 3.0 infrastructure in 2008; the company intends to offer DOCSIS 3.0 capability in 20 percent of its market area by the end of the year. Currently the cable industry depends on the DOCSIS 1.1 specification, but that standard is limited to 36Mbps down and 10Mbps up.

Cable companies may have made a name for themselves as speed kings early in the broadband wars, but the current bandwith limitations of DOCSIS 1.1 leave it looking paltry indeed when compared to Verizon’s FiOS 50Mbps down/30Mbps up packages. DOCSIS 3.0 won’t completely close the gap between cable and fiber, but its transfer rates of up to 160Mpbs down and 120Mbps up will still offer a considerable improvement over currently deployed equipment. DOCSIS has already proven it’s capable of delivering higher throughput speeds—last year Korean cable operator ARRIS demonstrated a pre-DOCSIS 3.0 network capable of delivering content above 100Mbps per second.

DOCSIS 3.0 also offers additional features that make it an attractive update, including enhanced network management and better security features. While not as fast as FiOS, DOCSIS should be easier (and cheaper) to deploy. Unsurprisingly, Comcast plans to focus its rollout in market areas where the cable provider is already facing strong competition from Verizon. If you’re a cable subscriber in Massachusetts or Virginia, 2008 may be a banner year for upgrading to a new tier of service. Those in areas where Comcast rules the roost in terms of speed will likely have to wait their turn, though the company will almost certainly focus buildout efforts in major cities.