Quote
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/at-t-looking-to-bring-its-super-fast-internet-to-21-83435323125.html
AT&T plans a major expansion of super-fast Internet services to cover as many as 100 municipalities in 25 total metropolitan areas.
The service, called GigaPower, has a 1-gigabit-per-second speed that is about 100 times what U.S. consumers typically get with broadband. That means faster video downloads and the ability for more devices to connect to the network without congestion.
AT&T currently has such speeds in Austin, Texas, and has committed to offer the service in Dallas. The company is also in advanced talks to bring GigaPower to two additional markets, Raleigh-Durham and Winston-Salem, N.C.
A rival offering from Google, known as Google Fiber, is available in Kansas City and is coming soon to Austin and Provo, Utah. Smaller companies and public utilities offer or plan such speeds in a handful of other markets throughout the U.S.
AT&T said Monday that the specific number of markets beyond its initial four will depend on discussions with local officials and assessments of potential demand. The company said it may start building some of the new networks by the end of the year.
None of the new markets are in the Northeast, because AT&T doesn't have landline operations there. Verizon serves much of that area and has been offering its own fiber-optics service, FiOS, though its top speed is at half of what AT&T is planning.
Verizon said that although it hasn't seen widespread demand for a 1-gigabit service yet, the rival offerings are indicative of growing demand for super-fast Internet.
Such speeds are common in parts of Asia and Northern Europe, but they are not as prevalent in the U.S., where some rural households are still stuck on extremely slow dial-up services. Internet providers have been reluctant to spend the billions of dollars needed to extend fiber-optic cables into each and every home. The companies have been largely content to use existing, but slower, cable TV lines.
Part of the problem is demand: Many applications and tasks that might take advantage of the higher speeds haven't been developed yet. But they won't get developed if the speeds aren't available.
But higher speeds will make a difference as people connect more smartphones and other gadgets to their home networks and expect to watch quality video on them.
Lori Lee, senior executive vice president for AT&T's home solutions business, said that just as consumers might not have imagined a need for smartphones a few years ago, they might not see a need for higher Internet speeds today. Such a need, she said, will become clearer over time.
"We see this as where the world is going," Lee said. "We are about skating where the puck is going and not necessarily where it is today."
AT&T is also targeting small and medium-sized businesses with the new offering. Lee cited video conferencing as one application made practical by higher speeds.
The 21 new metropolitan areas targeted by AT&T are Atlanta, Augusta, Ga.; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Cleveland; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Fort Worth, Texas; Greensboro, N.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Houston; Kansas City; Los Angeles; Miami; Nashville, Tenn.; Oakland, Calif.; Orlando, Fla.; St. Louis; San Antonio, Texas; San Diego; San Francisco; and San Jose, Calif.
In many of these markets, only certain cities and towns will get the service. All told, AT&T is targeting about 100 municipalities.
AT&T didn't announce prices. In Austin, the service costs $70, or $120 when bundled with television service.
Cable Internet services typically cost less but deliver slower speeds. And with most cable services, sending data is typically slower than receiving content, making online backups and video sharing impractical or painfully slow. AT&T's service is symmetrical, so uploads and downloads are comparable.
We are one of 21 markets AT&T is looking at deploying 1 Gig internet speed. U-Verse may finally be a reasonable option for households.
Nice.
Thanks for posting this chipwich!
I checked www.broadbandreports.com (http://www.broadbandreports.com) on this service, Karl Bode who is their editor was not too flattered about the offering.
You have to remember that AT&T has a really bad habit of making big announcements to the public, but privately they say something different to their investors. (Think T-Mobile)
I am glad you made the posting as they have Jacksonville on the list which is great, but I do wonder where the qualified service areas are because AT&T has only FTTN that is IP based and its not a large footprint. So don't take this as a knock, just a wait and see remark.
Here is what Karl shared on the announcement.
AT&T's 'Expansion' of 1 Gbps to 100 Cities is a Big, Fat Bluff
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATTs-Expansion-of-1-Gbps-to-100-Cities-is-a-Big-Fat-Bluff-128628 (http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATTs-Expansion-of-1-Gbps-to-100-Cities-is-a-Big-Fat-Bluff-128628)
AT&T today announced that the company is "eyeing" 100 potential target cities as locations they may deploy faster 1 Gbps "Gigapower" service. According to the company's press release, this "major initiative" will target 100 "candidate cities and municipalities" across 21 metropolitan areas nationwide. Those users could then get AT&T's $70-$100 per month 1 Gbps service, currently only available in a very small portion of Austin, Texas.
Before you get too excited, you need to understand that this is a bluff of immense proportion. It's what I affectionately refer to as "fiber to the press release."
Ever since Google Fiber came on the scene, AT&T's response has been highly theatrical in nature. What AT&T would have the press and public believe is that they're engaged in a massive new deployment of fiber to the home service. What's actually happening is that AT&T is upgrading a few high-end developments where fiber was already in the ground (these users were previously capped at DSL speeds) and pretending it's a serious expansion of fixed-line broadband.
It's not. At the same time AT&T is promising a massive expansion in fixed line broadband, they're telling investors they aren't spending much money on the initiative, because they aren't. AT&T's focus is on more profitable wireless. "Gigapower" is a show pony designed to help the company pretend they're not being outmaneuvered in their core business by a search engine company.
The press release admits as much if you look carefully. "This expanded fiber build is not expected to impact AT&T's capital investment plans for 2014," notes AT&T. That's what they noted last year, and will surely say the same thing next year. In fact, AT&T's been reducing their fixed-line CAPEX each year. What kind of major 1 Gbps broadband expansion doesn't hit your CAPEX? One that's either very tiny, or simply doesn't exist.
"Similar to previously announced metro area selections in Austin and Dallas and advanced discussions in Raleigh-Durham and Winston-Salem, communities that have suitable network facilities, and show the strongest investment cases based on anticipated demand and the most receptive policies will influence these future selections and coverage maps within selected areas," notes the company.
In short, if your city plays nice and gives AT&T what they want legislatively (namely gut consumer protections requiring they keep serving DSL users they don't want so they can focus on more profitable wireless) you'll get 1 Gbps fiber to a few high-end developments and apartment buildings. As an added bonus, your local politician can hold a lovely cord-cutting ceremony where he or she pretends to be encouraging the broadband networks of tomorrow (while in reality doing the exact opposite).
You can understand AT&T's executive and marketing logic to a degree. Google received an absolute blast of positive press coverage for their recent announcement that they might deploy Google Fiber to 34 cities in 9 major metro areas. Countless news outlets didn't understand what Google was even announcing, and stated breathlessly that all these cities would be getting fiber. The free marketing Google receives for what really is a very small actual deployment is staggering.
"This expanded fiber build is not expected to impact AT&T's capital investment plans for 2014."
-AT&T
Granted, while there is a heavy theatrical component to Google Fiber and its few thousand actual users, Google's interest really is in driving competition and helping cities build business plans -- even if Google doesn't deploy there themselves. In contrast, AT&T's interest is in pretending they're not a lumbering duopolist failing to keep pace, home to tens of millions of annoyed users on slow, capped and expensive DSL lines the company has no intention of upgrading anytime soon.
We're in the heart of the age of "fiber to the press release" and 1 Gbps mania, where all you need to do is simply mention 1 Gbps and you get a ticker-tape parade and a statue in the town square without having to deliver a single byte. AT&T's certainly counting on that reaction from the press and public. Look for specifics as to how many users will actually get 1 Gbps "Gigapower" service and at what cost to AT&T, and you'd be hard-pressed to find any whatsoever. That's because "Gigapower" is about 10% actual broadband, and 90% finely-manicured bullshit.
Great Article spuwho. I agree we should all be very careful when telecom companies promise anything.
My experience with AT&T is that they won't step up their game until its absolutely necessary (meaning they are about to get pounced by a competitor). They are always seem more interested in upholding their 5% dividend than advancing communication technology. I also feel similarly about Comcast and Verizon BTW.
I guess, we'll wait and see. It would be nice to see fiber layer out throughout Jacksonville. Hopefully, someday soon, it becomes a reality.
Officially announced yesterday. Brown, never one to miss a press announcement.
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2014-08-19/story/att-picks-jacksonville-second-florida-city-get-its-planned-gigapower
I'm looking forward to Comcast's response. They recently doubled speeds in markets with competition, but didn't include us in that upgrade since U-verse currently poses no real threat. DOCSIS currently can't compete with fiber, but should be able to in the next few years.