Got Google Fiber? No? Well, no problem. AT&T announced it plans to bring high-speed gigabit Internet to 21 different metro areas in the U.S.. In the coming years, AT&T says it plans to set its sights on hundreds of cities and municipalities.
AT&T announced Monday it is in talks with 21 different metropolitan areas. If the talks go well, AT&T plans to begin installing the necessary infrastructure to provide high-speed gigabit broadband to U-Verse and GigaPower customers in those areas. AT&T promises download speeds of 1 gigabit per second to broadband customers in these cities and the surrounding area.
Google Fiber already offers these speeds in several cities around the U.S., but AT&T aims to combat Google's high-speed Internet service with its own offerings in different cities where Google Fiber doesn't exist. The price is expected to be competitive with that of Google Fiber, but no formal announcement has been made yet.
AT&T already offers 300 megabit per second Internet in Austin, Texas, but now it will increase that speed to 1Gbps. It also plans to bring the high-speed Internet service to Dallas, Texas this year. At this point, AT&T is still in talks with cities in the Triangle region of North Carolina and several other metro areas.
AT&T is interested in expanding to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Cleveland, Miami, Houston and several other cities in which Google doesn't offer Fiber Internet. However, it also has plans to compete directly with Google Fiber in 14 different cities, including Austin and San Antonio, Texas; the Triangle region of North Carolina; Kansas City; San Jose, Calif.; and Atlanta, Ga.
The only way AT&T will be able to go head-to-head with Google Fiber in those 14 markets is if it undercuts Google Fiber's already low price of $70 a month for the service. So far, AT&T hasn't confirmed its price, but currently, its broadband Internet service in Austin costs the same as Google Fiber: $70 a month.
