AT&T has launched its fiber-based 1-Gig-capable GigaPower service to parts of Atlanta, taking aim at a market that is also being targeted by Google Fiber, and a city that will serve as the launch point of Comcast's new 2-Gbps FTTP offering.
AT&T said it will offer GigaPower, along with a new WiFi residential gateway, to qualified parts of Atlanta, Decatur, Newnan and Sandy Springs.
In Atlanta, AT&T is selling a 1-Gbps stand-alone service will start at $120 per month, while a 100-Mbps service will begin at $90 per month, for customers who agree to participate in Internet Preferences, AT&T's targeted advertising program for the Web. AT&T’s 1-Gig/TV bundle starts at $150 per month, and a triple-play service begins at $180 per month. AT&T is pitching services at lower prices in Kansas City, where Google Fiber has already launched 1-Gig and pay-TV services.
Google Fiber selected Atlanta as one of four metro areas tagged for expansion, but has not announced when services will launch there.
Comcast, meanwhile, announced recently that, starting next month, Atlanta will be the first market to get Gigabit Pro, an uncapped, 2 Gbps service offered via fiber-to-the-premises technology. Comcast has not priced the service, but expects to make it available to about 1.5 million customers in Atlanta, and expand availability to 18 million more homes as it offers Gigabit Pro to additional markets throughout 2015. Comcast said it will also use DOCSIS 3.1 on its hybrid fiber/coax network to increase the reach of gigabit broadband.
AT&T said it has invested about $2.8 billion in its wireless and wired networks in Atlanta between 2012 and 2014. The company has also launched GigaPower service in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Fort Worth, Texas; Cupertino, Calif.; Kansas City; and Raleigh-Durham and Winston-Salem, N.C.
AT&T has announced plans to deploy GigaPower in parts of several other markets, including Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C.; Chicago; Jacksonville and Miami, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn.; St. Louis; and San Antonio. The telco has also pledged to expand its fiber-based platform to an additional 2 million customer locations as part of its proposed acquisition of DirecTV.
