Ultra-fast broadband is not only considered the future, but this is also a key requirement for our technological society to advance, as every day the demand for faster speeds gets bigger. Media streaming (Netflix needs a lot of bandwidth), IoT devices, connected cars and the hundreds of millions of smartphones, computer, smart TVs and all sorts of connected devices require more and more bandwidth. While regular broadband is still stuck in time, thankfully AT&T GigaPower and Google Fiber are two initiatives to bring ultra-fast internet via optical fiber to cities across the U.S. While Fiber is currently available only in Austin, TX, Kansas City, MO, and Provo, UT, with more locations to come, AT&T is rushing to keep up with the competition by expanding its services to an additional 38 locations, making it 56 metropolitan areas served by GigaPower when the expansion is complete.
On a press release, the company announced the initial expansion to parts of Los Angeles, Calif. and West Palm Beach, Florida. Upcoming areas include big cities like San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose, all in California, Detroit and St. Louis, and medium metropolitan areas such as Memphis, Milwaukee, and Cleveland. It is important to mention, though, that the service is available on some parts of LA and West Palm Beach, so if you live in these areas you need to check the eligibility of your location since it depends on whether your address is covered by the optical fiber network. GigaPower allows download speeds of up to 1 Gbps, which is a lot when you compare it to the 104 Mbps offered by XFINITY, ranked the fastest ISP in America by Speedtest.net, or the mediocre 3,4 Mbps you find in Brazil, on average (for real).
AT&T didn’t provide a timeline for the introduction of their ultra-fast service on their planned locations, but don’t expect for it to come so soon. According to The Columbus Dispatch, a local newspaper from Columbus, OH, the city and the state as a whole expect the service to be available by the end of the next year. GigaPower was launched about two years ago in Austin, TX, and their plans depend on each location, as they charge less on areas where Google Fiber is also available, but you should expect something around $120 per month for the full 1 Gbps service. Google Fiber costs $70/month for the same speed and $130/month for internet and TV. You can head out to the source link below in order to check the full list of cities to be served by AT&T GigaPower in the future.