LAKELAND, Fla. — Spectrum executives announced in Lakeland Friday how the company would help the city transform into a gig city.

  • Spectrum announced it has partnered with Catapult
  • Lakeland mayor says internet offering will be a game changer
  • Announcement happened Friday in Lakeland

In a room full of entrepreneurs, Spectrum announced it is working toward offering 10 gigabit broadband connection in the next three to five years.

"We know how important laying that foundation for technology is not tomorrow but right now," said Marva Johnson, a Regional Vice President for Spectrum.

Mayor Bill Mutz explained why the high speed internet connection is needed.

"As we work toward autonomous vehicles, as we work towards many, many more wearables and things within homes that are going to cause many homes to be smart homes at lots of different levels, we're going to see a dramatic rise in the internet capacity need and the gigabyte speed need," Mutz said.

Spectrum already offers 2.5 million customers one gigabit broadband connection across central Florida.

The announcement came as Lakeland's Economic Development Council prepares to move its Catapult co-working space to a new 38,000 square-foot facility, called Catapult 3.0.

Spectrum announced that is has partnered with the new Catapult to offer 1 gigabit to its members. The entrepreneurs who work there said that's a big deal.

"If something which once took 10 minutes to upload can upload in two or three minutes, I'm getting on with my day a lot quicker," said Jamie Clemens, owner of Loud Life Productions, a video production company that is a member of Catapult.

Catapult's Executive Director, Christina Graham, said the broadband connection Spectrum is providing is about five times the internet speed the co-working space currently has.

Spectrum Major Account Executive Steven Powley said the company spent about $75,000 on the infrastructure in Catapult's new building.

Mutz said this type of high speed internet offering will be a game changer and save the city money.

"It's the last link in the chain for what we need to really provide for the infrastructure for our entrepreneurs and for our city as a whole as we move toward smart city capacity," Mutz said.

The new catapult opens in January and will offer a commercial kitchen and maker space, along with coworking space, conference rooms, and offices.

Since 2014, Spectrum has invested $32 billion in its infrastructure and technology.

Charter Communications is the parent company of Spectrum and Spectrum Bay News 9.