AT&T is planning to make its gigabit-speed Internet service available in more cities, by aiming to bring it to 38 new metropolitan areas by the end of next year. The expansion, which aims to head off the expansion plans of competitors such as Google Fiber, will bring the total number of AT&T GigaPower locations up to 56 areas, if the proposed network upgrades and construction in all of the new locations go ahead.
The list of new GigaPower areas consist of Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, and Montgomery, AL; Fort Smith/Northwest Arkansas and Little Rock, AR; Bakersfield, Fresno, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose, CA; Pensacola and West Palm Beach, FL; Augusta, GA; Indianapolis, IN; Wichita, KS; Louisville, KY; Baton Rouge, Shreveport-Bossier, Jefferson Parish region and the Northshore, LA; Jackson, MS; St. Louis, MO; Detroit, MI; Reno, NV; Asheville, NC; Cleveland and Columbus, OH; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, OK; Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville, SC; Memphis, TN; El Paso and Lubbock, TX; and Milwaukee, WI.
AT&T has previously suggested it would bring GigaPower to a number of the cities announced today, with Augusta, San Francisco, San Diego, and others listed in expansion plans from April last year. The Los Angeles and West Palm Beach metropolitan areas won’t need to wait for their service, as AT&T is bringing GigaPower live in those locations today.
Despite only bringing the total area count to 56, today’s announcement is probably a move by AT&T to show itself to be a dominant force in landline-based Internet services. By contrast, main gigabit Internet competitor Google Fiber’s expansion announcement in October advised it would be bringing its service to just three new cities, on top of its existing 12 operational or under construction fiber networks.
