AT&T says that it will be looking into the possibility of bringing gigabit internet to 100 cities around the United States in 21 different metropolitan areas. The high-speed 1GB per second speeds–you probably won’t actually attain these figures in the real-world–are already available in Austin, Texas and surrounding areas. At the least, AT&T is expanding the gigabit internet offering Dallas.
We’re focused on markets where we provide local services, including home phone, broadband and TV. Our next step is to identify the communities within these markets that demonstrate the strongest investment cases based on anticipated demand, and the most receptive policies. This combination will help influence our final selections. – AT&T
Among the proposed locations are Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami. At the same time as AT&T is considering an expansion of its gigabit internet, Google Fiber is rolling out to new areas around the country with the same sort of speeds. However, in Google’s case, the roll out is as much about speed as it is about cost.
Just like with Google Fiber, local officials will need to approve the expansion before AT&T can come in and starting laying down fiber optic lines around town.
AT&T has updated its GigaPower website to represent all of the cities that it is currently “exploring” and considering an expansion to. The chance that local officials will block a move like this seems low, so it is more a question of when AT&T will make the expansion rather than if it will make it.
We will need to first work with your city leaders to make sure there are strong investment cases and receptive policies for an expansion. If you want to stay informed on our progress, please submit your information above. – AT&T
The company’s U-verse television service will also be expanded to the same areas, according to the updates provided by AT&T.
Question – Would you rather get gigabit internet from AT&T or Google?
Summary: AT&T has listed 21 new metropolitan areas that it may expands its gigabit internet to. A timeline for the expansion hasn’t been provided. AT&T would be competing against Google Fiber, which is also providing 1GB per second internet in some areas.
image credit: technobuffalo