AT&T’s Rural Broadband Expansion Continues: 9 More States Added

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AT&T has brought its fixed wireless broadband service to nine more states, bringing the total coverage to more than 160,000 rural locations in 18 states. The service, partly funded by the U.S. federal Connect America Fund (CAF) program, provides homes and businesses with download speeds of at least 10 Mbps with a minimum of 1 Mbps upstream. The service uses licensed WCS (Band 30) 2.3 GHz spectrum.

This fixed wireless service has broadband usage caps of 160 GB per month, with additional 50 GB increments of data charged at $10 per month. It’s priced at $60 per month when bundled with other AT&T services.

The additional 9 states include:

  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Kansas
  • Michigan
  • Ohio
  • Texas
  • Wisconsin

They join Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, where this AT&T rural broadband service is already available in certain markets. AT&T has plans to reach 400,000 locations by the end of this year, and over 1.1 million locations by 2020. This AT&T rural broadband expansion is partially funded by the Connect America Fund (CAF), the FCC’s program to expand rural broadband access.

“Closing the connectivity gap is a top priority for us,” said Cheryl Choy, vice president, wired voice and internet products at AT&T in a press release announcing the expansion. “Access to fast and reliable internet is a game changer in today’s world.”

AT&T may gain some competition for this fixed wireless service, at least in Mississippi. C Spire just announced their intention to aggressively expand fixed wireless service  in Mississippi this week. They cited the advantage their 25 Mbps fixed wireless service has over certain CAF funded 10 Mbps fixed wireless options, a specific reference to AT&T.

“For many rural families and communities, the introduction of this service from AT&T will mark a new era of increased broadband speeds and access to cheaper and more diverse content.” said Bret Swanson, president, Entropy Economics.  “AT&T’s move into these new communities will also yield additional economic benefits and can help create new jobs.”

To learn more about Fixed Wireless Internet from AT&T, go to att.com/internet/fixed-wireless.html.

References:

http://about.att.com/story/fixed_wireless_internet_in_9_new_states.html

AT&T Rural Broadband Expansion Continues Through CAF Funded Fixed Wireless Service

 

One thought on “AT&T’s Rural Broadband Expansion Continues: 9 More States Added”

  1. 10 Mb/1 Mb speeds fall short of FCC’s definition of ‘broadband’. One has to be at least a bit skeptical of gaps between this carrier’s press releases and what’s really available. Recall AT&T Gigapower announcements more than a year ago! That said, kudos to AT&T if its announcements are reflective of what’s available.

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