After signing a $5 billion MVNO agreement with AT&T last summer, Dish is getting further into business with the Dallas wireless giant, agreeing to sell AT&T fiber home internet service to satellite TV and its own wireless customers. 

"Dish is always looking for ways to improve the overall customer experience," said Amir Ahmed, executive VP of Dish TV. "Adding AT&T Internet to our robust lineup of TV and home integration services enhances our ability to provide better overall service, technology and value to our customers."

Dish already bundles ISP services from Frontier, Cox and CenturyLink. However, with AT&T spinning off Dish's satellite TV rival, DirecTV, last summer, there seems to be a lot of discussion between the two companies. 

Notably, Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen continues to describe a merger between the companies' respective satellite TV services as "inevitable."

" Through this new arrangement with Dish, we're able to do just that by seamlessly offering our super-fast broadband services to more customers across the nation," said Jenifer Robertson, executive VP and general manager of mass markets for AT&T Communications. "This is another step towards our goal of becoming the best broadband provider in America." ■

The National Advertising Division, a unit administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, announced last week that it has recommended that AT&T modify advertising in a way that clarifies the availability of AT&T Fiber, an FTTP-based product that delivers gigabit speeds.

RELATED: AT&T Expands Fiber to 17 More Metros

The recommendation follows a challenge lodged by Charter Communications, which complained about several AT&T Fiber ad claims, including: “With internet this fast, it must be the future,” “Internet speeds twenty times faster. Introducing AT&T Fiber,” “Speeds 20x faster than the average cable customer,” “Internet 1000,” and “AT&T has the largest fiber network.”

In coming to its conclusion, NAD said it considered whether the advertising at issue implied that AT&T has upgraded all, or substantially all, of its network to deliver fiber-to-the-home services, or that AT&T Fiber is available to most customers in the areas where the company offers residential broadband service.

AT&T, which is appealing the NAD’s recommendation, countered that consumers understand that AT&T Fiber has limited availability because ads include qualifying language such as “coming soon” and “introducing.”

NAD noted that in previous cases that limited service availability “is a material fast that must be clearly and conspicuously disclosed to consumers. Given that AT&T offers internet service using other technology, the decision states, it is especially important that AT&T communicate the limited availability of its AT&T Fiber.”

NAD’s recommendation is for AT&T Fiber ads to be modified to make clear that AT&T Fiber “is more unavailable than available.”

Regarding AT&T’s claim that AT&T Fiber is the largest FTTH network, NAD suggests that the company discontinue using that claim or modify it to “make clear that it refers to fiber across AT&T’s network, not to its fiber-to-the-home network.”

NAD backed its recommendation by finding that a coverage map on AT&T’s web site “did not reasonably communicate the message that AT&T Fiber was generally available in an area designated on the map.”

As for the “Internet 1000” ad claim, NAD said the “name itself is expressly false,” as AT&T discloses that max download speeds for AT&T Fiber is 940 Mbps.

NAD noted that AT&T “strongly disagrees with this recommendation” in part because the “coming soon” statement clearly communicates that the advertised service is not yet available and thus, additional limited availability disclosures are unnecessary, contradictory and confusing.”

Charter, meanwhile, said it would NAD’s finding that AT&T can advertise AT&T Fiber services on a market-wide basis in markets where the service is not yet available to 20% (or more) of the marketplace,” and NAD’s finding that AT&T can advertise that customers will receive a “gigabit” or “1000 Mbps connection” with AT&T’s “Internet 1000” tier of service, so long as it discloses that the service delivers speeds up to 940 Mbps.

AT&T said it’s leaning harder on G.fast, a new standard that can help ISPs extend the life of DSL and put 1-Gig speeds in their crosshairs.

Targeted primarily to MDU environments such as apartments and condos, AT&T said it’s deploying G.fast in eight metros, and another 14 on tap.

AT&T, which recently wrapped a G.fast trial in Minneapolis, said the first eight initial launch cities with live G.fast properties include Boston; Denver; Minneapolis; New York City; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Seattle; and Tampa.

RELATED: ITU Stamps G.fast

G.fast-based services are now on sale to MDUs in parts of these 14 metros: Albany, N.Y.; Baltimore; Buffalo, N.Y.; Cincinnati; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Hartford, Conn.; Omaha, Neb.; Pittsburgh; Portland, Ore.; Providence, R.I.; Richmond, Va.; Rochester, N.Y.; Washington, D.C., and Salt Lake City.

Though G.fast is a standard with 1-Gig in its sights, AT&T said it’s using the technology to deliver internet speeds of up to 500 Mbps.

“We’re tapping into the existing internet infrastructure in some multifamily properties to bring ultra-fast internet in less time and with less disruption than replacing the network with fiber,” Ed Balcerzak, senior vice president, AT&T Connected Communities, said in a statement. “While fiber to the unit remains the best broadband solution for most properties where possible, G.fast and fixed millimeter-wave provide connectivity to properties that aren’t able to support fiber. AT&T is committed to providing apartments and condos with connectivity across the nation, and innovations such as G.fast are helping us to do that.”

Frontier Communications and Windstream are among U.S. telcos that are starting to use G.fast for MDUs, but Verizon Communications apparently is not a big fan of the technology.

RELATED: Frontier Gets Going With G.fast

“Our strategy for G.Fast is not to deploy it,” Vincent O’Byrne, director of network planning for Verizon, said last week at the Adtran Connect event in Huntsville, Ala., according to FierceTelecom.

AT&T Fiber said it has launched 1-Gig service to parts of Tulsa, Okla., and surrounding areas that include Jenk and Owasso.

Tulsa adds to the 55 metro areas and 5.5 million “locations” where AT&T Fiber has been deployed. AT&T Fiber expects to expand to 75 metros.

RELATED: AT&T Expands Fiber to 17 More Metros

In Tulsa, AT&T is offering 1-Gig for $70 per month when bundled with other AT&T services, such as DirecTV or U-verse TV, on a single bill, or $80 per month as a standalone for 12 months, after which the price goes up to $90 per month.

Comcast said it plans to launch a DOCSIS 3.1-based 1-Gig broadband service to residences and businesses in Huntsville, Ala., later this year, paving the way for a big broadband showdown with AT&T and an expected municipal service offering.

Comcast is already selling DOCSIS 3.1 services in Atlanta, Nashville, Chicago and Detroit, and has set plans to introduce D3.1-based offerings in several markets this year, including Denver, San Francisco, and Kansas City, among others.

RELATED: Comcast Sets DOCSIS 3.1 Expansion, Launches 1-Gig in Detroit

Comcast didn’t announce expected pricing of the 1-Gig service in Huntsville, but, in other markets, it’s been offering it for a base price of $139.95 per month alongside the testing of a promotional price of $70 per month when customers agree to a three-year service contract.

Comcast also offers a symmetrical 2 Gbps service for residential customers called Gigabit Pro via targeted FTTP deployments, but has yet to introduce that offering in Huntsville. However, Comcast does offer up to 10 Gbps to business customers using its fiber/Ethernet network in Huntsville. 

The D3.1 upgrade will help Comcast compete with AT&T, which has launched a fiber-based 1-Gig service in parts of Huntsville.  Google Fiber also has plans to offer service on a network being built by Huntsville Utilities.

 “We know that high-speed internet is the infrastructure of the future, and it is absolutely necessary for communities to remain competitive for economic development and attractive to people looking to move to Huntsville,” Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, said in a statement. “We appreciate Comcast’s efforts to bring gigabit-speed Internet service to Huntsville, and look forward to the benefit that this technology will deliver to our residents and businesses.”

 “This launch reflects Comcast’s ongoing commitment to offering the fastest speeds to the most homes and businesses in Huntsville,” added Comcast Regional SVP Doug Guthrie.  “Soon, customers will leverage a new gigabit internet service that will deliver a truly unparalleled online experience.”

AT&T Fiber said its FTTP network and 1 Gbps broadband service will reach 51 major metros by the end of the month following launches in a handful of additional markets.

That latest batch of launches includes parts of Columbia, S.C.; Jackson, Miss.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Milwaukee, Wis.; and Shreveport, La.

AT&T Fiber, recently rebranded from AT&T GigaPower, said it now offers 1-Gig connections to nearly 4 million customer locations, of which about 650,000 are apartments and condo units.

Speaking on AT&T’s recent earnings call, company CFO John Stephens said AT&T is “ahead of plan” with the company’s FTTP buildout, citing the 4 million current locations, with 12.5 million locations still being targeted by the buildout.

He said broadband penetration is 9% higher in FTTP markets versus AT&T’s non-fiber footprint, and that about half of new broadband subs in fiber markets take speeds of 100 Mbps or more, and 30% are taking 1 Gig.

DirecTV Now is being punished in social media circles and in recent product reviews for technical snafus that have stymied the OTT-TV service in its early days, but AT&T seems pleased with the results it's seeing so far. 

DirecTV is “off to a really fast start,” Randall Stephenson, AT&T’s chairman and CEO, said on the company’s Q4 call Wednesday, later pointing out that U-verse TV, launched in 2007, took about 18 months to get to 200,000 subs.

Though AT&T’s traditional pay TV base lost 27,000 subs in Q4, the 200,000-plus paid DirecTV subs generated in its first month allowed AT&T’s total video sub base to finish the quarter in the black.

RELATED: AT&T Sheds 262K U-verse TV Subs, Adds 235K Satellite TV Subs in Q4

“We’re pleased with the initial results from DirecTV Now, but we’re going to be careful with our expectations,” John Stephens, AT&T’s CFO, said earlier in the call, noting that special promotions and launch pricing helped drive subs to the new service.

No one asked AT&T how it’s dealing with some of the streaming issues that have been plaguing DirecTV Now,  but Stephens volunteered that the company is we're "working through the expected challenges that come with launching a new, innovative service of this magnitude." 

Regarding some early learnings, he said DirecTV Now subs are skewing urban, younger and tend to draw more apartment dwellers than a typical linear customer, and that the sales process is simply different because consumers only need broadband, a supported device and a credit card to get going.

The new regulatory environment also came up on the call, as AT&T was asked to weigh in on the appointment of new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

That led to a discussion about zero-rating, a controversial policy in which certain data is exempt from data usage plans. The FCC, then under Tom Wheeler, indicated concerns that the combo of DirecTV now and AT&T sponsored data plans "appears to present significant anti-competitive effects."

RELATED: FCC Takes Aim at DirecTV Now

AT&T defended it then, and Stephenson did so again today, reiterating the stance that AT&T believes that the FCC’s criticism “was without basis, without any legal basis” and that “you should expect to see us go hard” with zero-rated services and policies. We’re having some really good success in the marketplace with this."

Stephens said AT&T is also “ahead of plan” with the company’s FTTP buildout, which is available today to about 4 million consumer customer locations, with 12.5 million locations still being targeted by the buildout.

He said broadband penetration is 9% higher in FTTP markets versus AT&T’s non-fiber footprint, and that about half of new broadband subs in fiber markets take speeds of 100 Mbps or more, and 30% are taking 1 Gig.

“As our fiber deployment accelerates,  we're excited about this growth opportunity,” he said. 

AT&T Fiber said it has introduced 1-Gig broadband service to parts of three more markets – Greenville, S.C.; Little Rock, Ark.; and Sacramento,  Calif.

There, AT&T Fiber’s standalone 1-Gig service starts at $90 per month.

RELATED: Good-Bye, GigaPower...Hello ‘AT&T Fiber’

With those additions, AT&T Fiber said it has launched service to parts of 46 metros nationwide and 3 million “locations,” including more than 500,000 apartments and condo units. AT&T Fiber said the latest deployments fulfills its commitment to bring service to at least 45 major metros by the end of 2016.

AT&T Fiber plans to expand to at least 67 metros.

RELATED: AT&T to Tweak, Raise Broadband Data Plans

Tied into a rebrand of its fiber-based offering, AT&Trecentlysunset Internet Preferences, a targeted Web advertising program it has been using in tandem with its lower-cost 1-Gig broadband service tiers. 

AT&T said it is expanding the availability of fiber-fed 1 Gbps service to portions of at least ten additional major metro areas this month.

AT&T, which recently dropped the “GigaPower” moniker in favor of a new umbrella brand, AT&T Fiber, said it has launched 1-Gig this month in Columbus, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; and  Huntsville, Ala.; and will add the following markets later this month: Augusta, Ga.; Bakersfield, Calif.; Ft. Smith/Northwest Arkansas, Ark.; Louisville, Ky.; Lubbock, Texas; Memphis, Tenn.; and Mobile, Ala.

RELATED: Good-Bye, GigaPower...Hello ‘AT&T Fiber’

The company said it has introduced 1-Gig in parts of 32 major metro areas, and is on track to reach at least 45 metros by the end of 2016, and 67 overall.

AT&T claims to be marketing gigabit broadband to more 3 million “locations,” a number that it plans to expand to 12.5 million by mid-2019.

RELATED: AT&T to Tweak, Raise Broadband Data Plans

AT&T recently confirmed that it is sunsetting Internet Preferences, a targeted Web advertising program it has been using in tandem with a lower-cost 1-Gig broadband service tier. 

AT&T said it will deliver gigabit service to 11 more metro areas as it also drops the “GigaPower” name and starts to employ a new umbrella brand --  AT&T Fiber.

The additional metros that will get 1-Gig from AT&T Fiber include Gainesville and Panama City, Fla; Columbus, Ga.; Central Kentucky; Lafayette, La.; Biloxi-Gulfport and Northeast Mississippi; Wilmington, N.C.; Southeastern Tennessee and Knoxville; and Corpus Christi, Texas.

AT&T said the expansions increase its commitment to bring gigabit service to parts of at least 67 metros, and expects to have 45 of them online by the end of 2016. AT&T Fiber service is already deployed in 29 metro areas spanning 3 million “locations,” the company said, noting that it’s on track to exceed 12.5 million locations planned by mid-2019.

“Customer demand for high-speed connectivity is exceeding even our high expectations. Today we’re also introducing the AT&T Fiber umbrella brand, which lets us bring ultra-fast internet to even more residential and business customers through a mix of the latest network technologies,” David Christopher, chief marketing officer of the AT&T Entertainment Group, said in a statement.

AT&T said the new AT&T Fiber brand includes, but isn’t limited to, the former AT&T GigaPower network.

“We will announce additional network technologies and products in our AT&T Fiber umbrella brand in the near future,” the company said. Last month, AT&Tintroduced Project AirGig, an emerging platform that is designed to deliver low-cost, multi-gigabit wireless Internet speeds backed by power lines.

The brand change also comes as AT&T sunsets Internet Preferences, a targeted Web advertising program it has been using in tandem with its lower-cost 1-Gig broadband service tiers.