I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again.
The fastest way to improve an industry’s service or pricing is to introduce more competition. For the broadband industry, we’ve been watching traditional cable and DSL providers scramble to improve their offerings in areas where Google or publicly funded efforts are rolling out fiber to home internet.
AT&T has announced plans to match Google’s price and performance in areas around Kansas City. Gigabit broadband will cost $70, and combined with a basic TV package will increase that rate to $120.
It’s interesting to note that AT&T will also be courting businesses as Google currently only offers their fiber solution to residential areas. AT&T is already operating their “Gigapower” version of U-Verse in Austin, and there has been talk of expanding to more areas around the country this year. Moving to Kansas City is a clear shot at the area Google started their fiber roll out.
With Google announcing more cities on their list for gigabit internet, it would seem the broadband market might be heating up a bit, especially as cable providers like Time Warner and Comcast seem ill-equipped to offer competitive speeds and pricing compared to fiber providers.
You can read AT&T’s full press release below.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Feb. 16, 2015 – Imagine downloading 25 songs in less than one second or before you can even crank up the volume. Imagine loading your favorite HD movie in less than 36 seconds, a fraction of the time it takes to pick which movie to watch.
It’s now a reality for qualifying residents and small businesses with today’s launch of U-verse with AT&T* GigaPower in parts of Kansas City, Mo., parts of Leawood, Lenexa, Olathe, Overland Park, Kan. and in surrounding communities located throughout the metro area. Additionally, AT&T has plans to expand the service to Independence, Mo. and Shawnee, Kan.**
The AT&T GigaPower network provides customers access to the fastest Internet available from AT&T, featuring speeds up to 1 gigabit per second.*** Whether customers are connecting to the cloud, videoconferencing, online gaming or other services, ultra-fast Internet access will improve the customer experience.
U-verse with AT&T GigaPower customers will also have access to award-winning TV services. This includes the ability to watch and record five simultaneous HD streams and AT&T’s largest storage capacity DVR, capable of storing up to 900 hours of SD or 330 hours of HD programming. Customers can access the AT&T U-verse app on more than 30 smartphones and tablets to watch more than 200 live TV channels in the home, 110 live TV channels while on the go, stream video on-demand, schedule DVR recordings and more.
Consumers in eligible areas can choose from single, double and triple play offers to ensure they have the right combination of services to fit their needs.
- U-verse High Speed Internet 1Gbps: Internet speeds up to 1Gbps for $70 per month****, includes waiver of equipment, installation and activation fees, and a three year price guarantee.
- U-verse High Speed Internet 1Gbps + TV: Customers who also select U-verse TV will receive free HBO, HBO GO and HD service for 36 months starting at $120 per month with qualifying TV services.
- U-verse High Speed Internet 1Gbps + TV + Voice: Customers will receive all of the benefits of Internet speeds up to 1Gbps and TV package, plus AT&T U-verse Unlimited Voice starting at $150 per month.
“We’re proud to launch in these cities as the first locations where we will offer ultra-high speeds to local consumers and employers in the Kansas City area,” said Mike Scott, president of AT&T Kansas. “The AT&T GigaPower network will help encourage economic development in the area by facilitating a new wave of innovation through enhanced opportunities for education, health, research and small business growth.”
“We’ve moved quickly to bring more competition to the Kansas City area for blazing-fast Internet speeds and best-in-class television service,” said John Sondag, president of AT&T Missouri. “But this is just our initial launch. We look forward to continuing to expand our AT&T GigaPower network in the Kansas City area where there are strong investment cases and receptive customers.”
Given the initial and continued success of U-verse with AT&T GigaPower in Austin, AT&T has announced a major expansion initiative. AT&T is considering expanding its all-fiber network up to 100 cities and municipalities across 25 markets. With today’s announcement, the AT&T GigaPower network is available to hundreds of thousands consumers and small businesses across parts of the Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Kansas City, Raleigh-Durham and Winston-Salem markets. AT&T previously announced plans to deliver U-verse with AT&T GigaPower in parts of 11 additional markets – Atlanta; Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C.; Chicago; Cupertino, Calif.; Houston; Jacksonville, Fla.; Miami; Nashville, Tenn.; St. Louis and San Antonio.
Frost & Sullivan recently recognized AT&T for its leadership in high-speed Internet services, awarding the company the 2015 North American Competitive Strategy and Innovation Leadership of the Year Award for Broadband. The analyst firm praised AT&T for its “aggressive pursuit of higher bandwidth access” for customers through its AT&T GigaPower network initiative.
Additionally, AT&T has committed that upon approval of its proposed acquisition of DIRECTV, the company will expand the AT&T GigaPower network to an additional 2 million customer locations. All of these 2 million locations are over and above what the company announced in 2014.
AT&T has served the Kansas City area for 135 years and employs nearly 12,000 people in Kansas and Missouri.
For more information, or to check availability, please visit att.com/gigapower.
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* AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
** Initial availability limited to select areas. May not be available in your area.
*** Speed/time estimates are examples. Internet speed claims represent maximum network service capability speeds. Actual customer speeds may vary and are not guaranteed. Actual speeds vary based on factors including site traffic, content provider server capacity, internal network management factors, customer device capabilities and use of other U-verse services. For more information, go to www.att.com/speed101
**** U-verse with AT&T GigaPower Premier offer is available with agreement from customer to participate in AT&T Internet Preferences. AT&T may use Web browsing information, like the search terms entered and the Web pages visited, to provide customers with relevant offers and ads tailored to their interests.