AT&T releases list of potential new 1-Gbps FTTH markets

AT&T has released a list of 21 metropolitan markets in which it might roll out the 1-Gbps GigaPower version of its U-Verse service. How many of these cities will actually see the fiber to the home (FTTH) based service will depend on whether the municipalities “have suitable network facilities, and show the strongest investment cases based on anticipated demand and the most receptive policies,” the service provider said in a press release.

The 21 markets include Atlanta, Augusta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale, Greensboro, Houston, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, Oakland, Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego, St. Louis, San Francisco, and San Jose.

These markets would potentially follow Austin (see “AT&T launches 300 Mbps U-verse in Austin with 1 Gbps on the way”) and Dallas as GigaPower recipients. AT&T is also negotiating deployment of GigaPower in North Carolina (see “AT&T negotiates for 1-Gbps FTTH in North Carolina”). In total, 101 municipalities could receive the 1-Gbps service if AT&T enters all the markets it has targeted, including Austin.

The new list comes shortly after Google Fiber released its own potential 1-Gbps FTTH hit list (see “Google Fiber targets 34 cities and towns for expansion”). Both Google and AT&T have Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Raleigh, San Antonio, and San Jose in their sights. The two service providers already compete in Austin (see “Google Fiber coming to Austin”). They would also butt heads in Kansas City if AT&T decides to deploy there.

The new list of communities that may see 1-Gbps service availability includes:

• Atlanta: Alpharetta, Atlanta, Decatur, Duluth, Lawrenceville, Lithonia, McDonough, Marietta, Newnan, Norcross, and Woodstock
• Augusta
• Charlotte: Charlotte, Gastonia, and Huntersville
• Chicago: Chicago, Des Plaines, Glenview, Lombard, Mount Prospect, Naperville, Park Ridge, Skokie, and Wheaton
• Cleveland: Akron, Barberton, Bedford, Canton, Cleveland, and Massillon
• Dallas: Dallas, Farmer’s Branch, Frisco, Grand Prairie, Highland Park, Irving, Mesquite, Plano, Richardson, and University Park
• Fort Lauderdale
• Fort Worth: Arlington, Euless, Fort Worth, and Haltom City
• Greensboro
• Jacksonville: Jacksonville and St. Augustine
• Houston: Galveston, Houston, Katy, Pasadena, Pearland, and Spring
• Kansas City: Independence, Kansas City, Leawood, Overland Park, and Shawnee
• Los Angeles
• Miami: Hialeah, Hollywood, Homestead, Miami, Opa-Locka, and Pompano Beach
• Nashville: Clarksville, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Smyrna, and Spring Hill
• Oakland
• Orlando: Melbourne, Oviedo, Orlando, Palm Coast, Rockledge, and Sanford
• St. Louis and metro area: Chesterfield, Edwardsville, Florissant, Granite City, and St. Louis
• San Antonio
• San Diego
• San Francisco
• San Jose: Campbell, Cupertino, Mountain View, and San Jose.

AT&T did not release a timeline for making final decisions on which markets it would serve or when deployments might begin. The company said that these potential deployments, part of its Project Velocity IP (VIP) initiative, are unlikely to affect its capex plans for 2014, which would imply that much of the infrastructure to support such roll outs is already in place or that it doesn't expect significant roll outs until 2015.

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