Patriot Media boosts connection speeds

Consumers in the Princetons benefit

By: George Spohr
   Patriot Media & Communications CNJ LLC has bumped up the speed of its cable- Internet service to its customers in the Princetons and throughout Central Jersey.
   Patriot customers now will receive data at up to 4 megabits per second for their regular level of service. It’s the second increase in speed that Patriot Media delivered since its purchase two years ago of RCN’s cable system.
   The new speeds are 167 percent faster than they were at the time of the transfer, said Jim Holanda, the company’s president.
   In addition to the speed enhancements, Patriot’s consumer customers will see increased size of Web-based storage and e-mail. Patriot also has enhanced its service by providing additional security options, including virus protection, an adult-content filter, spyware removal, pop-up blockers and firewall.
   The company expects to further increase its download speeds for customers, Mr. Holanda said. Patriot "will again continue to improve the service later this year," with a planned increase in speeds to 5 megabits per second.
   That "will make our speeds and features superior to almost all other cable systems throughout the country," he said.
   This next increase in speed will begin May 4 in the northern part of the Somerset-based company’s system, where customers will experience 5 megabits-per-second service. The enhancements will then proceed through the remaining parts of the system and be complete this summer resulting in speeds 233 percent faster than when Patriot began to operate the system.
   Patriot Media is a privately held company formed in 2002 by cable veteran Steven J. Simmons and Spectrum Equity Investors, a private equity firm specializing in media and communications investments. Patriot Media owns and operates a cable system in Central Jersey, providing cable television and high-speed internet services to more than 115,000 homes with 2,700 miles of plant.