AT&T Eyes 100 U.S. Cities And Municipalities Fiber Upgrade

Posted by Heidi Schwartz

ATTAT&T has announced an initiative to expand its fiber network to up to 100 candidate cities and municipalities nationwide, including 21 new major metropolitan areas. The fiber network will deliver broadband speeds up to 1 Gigabit per second  to consumers and businesses.

AT&T will work with local leaders in these markets to discuss ways to bring the service to their communities. Similar to previously announced metro area selections in Austin and Dallas and advanced discussions in Raleigh-Durham and Winston-Salem, communities that have suitable network facilities, and show the strongest investment cases based on anticipated demand and the most receptive policies will influence these future selections and coverage maps within selected areas. This initiative continues AT&T’s ongoing commitment to economic development in these communities, bringing jobs, advanced technologies and infrastructure.

“We’re delivering advanced services that offer consumers and businesses the ability to do more, faster, help communities create a new wave of innovation, and encourage economic development,” said Lori Lee, senior executive vice president, AT&T Home Solutions. “We’re interested in working with communities that appreciate the value of the most advanced technologies and are willing to encourage investment by offering solid investment cases and policies.”

In addition to the previously announced Austin, Dallas, Raleigh-Durham, and Winston-Salem markets, the list of metros and municipalities identified as candidates include, but are not restricted to:Screen Shot 2014-04-22 at 12.25.28 PM

With previously announced markets, AT&T now has committed to—or is exploring—25 metro areas for fiber deployment.

The planned growth of the service is part of AT&T’s Project Velocity IP (VIP) investment plan to expand and enhance its wireless and wireline IP broadband networks to support growing demand. The services are available in Austin and some surrounding communities, and are expected to roll out in parts of Dallas this summer.