Comcast, the largest U.S. operator and residential Internet service provider, said Wednesday that it plans to bring high-speed broadband services to 10 million homes by the end of the year.

The new enhanced offer speeds up to 50 megabits per second, which enables users to download a high-definition movie in 16 minutes and a standard definition movie in 5 minutes.

In the next few weeks, the cable provider will roll out its wideband Docsis 3.0 to residential and business customers in Boston, southern New Hampshire, and areas of Philadelphia and New Jersey. It is also available in Minneapolis-St. Paul, where it was launched earlier this year.

As far as speed and prices are concerned, Comcast will begin offering its "Extreme 50" service with 50 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 10 Mbps of upstream speed for $139.95 per month. It will also offer its "Ultra" service with 22 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 5 Mbps of upstream speed for $62.95 per month. Business customers will pay $189.95 per month for the Deluxe 50 Mpbs/10 Mbps tier, Comcast said.

Comcast first announced plans for wideband at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. "Wideband is a game-changer for the industry," Mitch Bowling, senior vice president and general manager of Comcast Online Services, said in a statement.

Comcast’s ambition is also due to the fact that the company has received criticism from the FCC for throttling broadband speeds of its heaviest Internet news users and last month released details of how it will manage network traffic. And this effort has definitely led some customers to view the company more positively.