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. 

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

In Austin, for example, AT&T has been selling a Premiere tier of the 1-Gig service for $70 per month, when subscribers agreed to participate in Internet Preferences alongside a Standard version, without the targeted ad option, for $99 per month.

AT&T said that, starting in October, all GigaPower customers, regardless of whether or not they previously chose to opt-in, will receive the stand-alone 1-Gig service for $70 – a price that happens to match up with Google Fiber’s stand-alone gigabit offering.

“To simplify our offering for our customers, we plan to end the optional Internet Preferences advertising program related to our fastest internet speed tiers,” AT&T said in a statement. “As a result, all customers on these tiers will receive the best rate we have available for their speed tier in their area."

AT&T noted that it began to communicate this update to customers this week. 

AT&T said it has launched fiber-based GigaPower services in portions of two more markets – Cleveland, Ohio; and Sacramento, Calif.

In Sacramento, GigaPower is initially being targeted to Placer County (Lincoln, Rocklin, Roseville and surrounding communities); in Cleveland, the launches cover parts of the city, as well as Bedford Heights, Bedford, Shaker Heights and some surrounding communities.

In both new launch markets, AT&T GigaPower’s 1 Gbps standalone service starts at $90 per month, when customers agree to participate in AT&T Internet Preferences, the company’s targeted Web advertising service. Customers can also bundle in pay TV service from DirecTV or U-verse TV.

AT&T said its GigaPower network is currently available in over 2.2 million locations across 29 of the nation’s largest metro areas, and reiterated it has plans to expand 1-Gig to parts of 27 more areas and eventually reach 14 million residential and commercial locations with its fiber-based network.

AT&T also launched 1-Gig to businesses in the Cleveland area, including Cleveland-Elyria, Canton-Massillon, Findlay, Dayton, Columbus, Springfield, Akron, Toledo, Sandusky, Cincinnati and Youngstown-Warren-Boardman market areas.

AT&T has launched its fiber-based GigaPower services platform in parts of St. Louis, where the telco tangles with incumbent MSO Charter Communications.

AT&T said GigaPower, which delivers up to 1 Gbps, is now available in portions of the city, along with St. Charles and University City, with more areas to be added in the region by the end of the year. AT&T announced it would add St. Louis to its GigaPower mix in November 2015.

AT&T’s 1-Gig  offering there starts at $90 per month for subs who participate in AT&T Internet Preferences, the company’s targeted Web advertising program. Customers have the option to bundle in the pay TV packages from DirecTV (acquired by AT&T in July 2015), or U-verse TV.  

AT&T recently moved its GigaPower service to an unlimited data plan. U-verse Internet subs on tiers of up to 300 Mbps have moved to a 1-terabyte monthly data plan, paying $10 for additional buckets of 50 gigabytes, and also have the option to purchase an unlimited plan for an additional $30 per month.  Customers who bundle U-verse Internet with U-verse TV or DirecTV service and pay for services on a single bill, still get unlimited home Internet data for no additional charge.

AT&T said its GigaPower network now reaches 2.2 million locations across 27 metros, and still has plans to add 29 more. All in, the plan is to deliver GigaPower to 14 million residential and commercial locations, the telco said.

AT&T said it will change the data plans and monthly allowances for some wireline broadband customers starting August 21.

U-verse Internet subs on tiers with speeds up to 300 Mbps will see their monthly data ceiling rise to 1 terabyte before overage fees are applied ($10 for an additional bucket of 50 gigabytes of data).

However, customers who bundle U-verse Internet with U-verse TV or DirecTV service and pay for services on a single bill, per the current policy, still get unlimited home Internet data for no additional charge.  Other U-verse data subs still have the option to buy an unlimited plan for an additional $30 per month.

Meanwhile, customers on GigaPower, AT&T’s fiber-based offering with speeds up to 1 Gbps, will be moving to an unlimited data plan.  AT&T has been pairing GigaPower with 1-TB soft caps that charge $10 for each additional bucket of 50 gigabytes, with a max monthly overage charge of $30.

Prior to the new policy, subs on tier with speeds between 768 kbps to 6 Mbps were fixed with 300 GB monthly data allowances, while 12 Mbps to 75 Mbps were set at 600 GB, and those on plans with 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps speeds were set at 1 TB.

“For customers with internet speeds below 12Mbps, this triples their current amount of data; for customers with internet speeds ranging from 12Mbps to 75Mbps, this nearly doubles their current allowance,” Cheryl Choy, AT&T’s VP of data and voice products, said in the announcement.

AT&T has set up a site where customers can estimate, monitor and manage their data usage. AT&T said it will start to notify customers about the updated policies on August 1.

AT&T is also just one of several ISPs to recently adjust broadband usage policies.

Comcast is testing a 1 TB usage plan and an unlimited data option in a subset of markets, with Chicago joining the mix August 1 (subscription required).

Alaska’s GCI bumped the monthly limit of “Red,” its 1 Gbps residential cable modem service, from 750 GB  to 1 TB.

CenturyLink is also testing a usage-based billing policy in Yakima, Wash., but has not committed beyond that.

AT&T said it is launching its fiber-fed GigaPower platform in parts of two more markets – San Diego, Calif.; and El Paso, Texas.

Service is being offered in a sub-segment of those areas.

In the San Diego region, GigaPower is being offered in portions of Carlsbad, San Diego and San Marcos, as well as more than a dozen area apartments, including a master-planned community called Civita in Mission Valley.

There, AT&T said it is offering 1-Gig standalone service starting at $70 per month

AT&T GigaPower offers internet speeds up to 1Gbps for as low as $70 a month. That “Premier” tier is available to customers who participate in AT&T Internet Preferences, the company’s targeted Web advertising program.

For the deployment in El Paso, 1-Gig is starting at $90 per month.

AT&T said its GigaPower network currently reaches more than 1.6 million locations in 24 metro areas with plans to extend it to 32 more areas at 14 million residential and commercial locations.

The anticipated breadth of that rollout plan has drawn some skepticism. CSG Consulting, for example, is wondering how the budget AT&T has allotted for wireline is enough for it to reach its stated goals.

AT&T has launched its fiber-based GigaPower platform in the tech-savvy Bay Area, reaching parts of San Francisco, San Jose, Dublin, Mountain View, Santa Clara and San Ramon.

Early on, AT&T is offering 1-Gig to nearly 30 apartment buildings in the region, including Lumina, a 655-unit residential waterfront condo in the Rincon Hill neighborhood. Notably,  Google Fiber has accelerated its its move into San Francisco by using existing fiber there to deliver services to certain apartments, condos and housing properties in the market. Comcast offers a symmetrical 2 Gbps residential service called Gigabit Pro in the Bay Area  that uses FTTP.

The latest batch of AT&T GigaPower deployments in the Bay Area are tacked on to the portions of Cupertino where at AT&T initially launched the fiber-fed service in 2015.

As for the latest deployment, customers in “tens of thousands of area homes, apartments and small businesses” in the Bay Area now have access to 1-Gig service delivered on the telco’s fiber-based GigaPower platform.

There, AT&T is offering 1-Gig standalone service starting at $70 per month.

AT&T, which merged with DirecTV last summer, said its GigaPower network is currently available in over 1.6 million locations across 22 U.S. metro areas, with plans to extend it to 34 more areas.

"By expanding GigaPower to additional cities in the Bay Area beyond Cupertino, we are demonstrating our continued commitment to our customers whose appetite for high speed data continues to grow,”Jeni Bell, vice president and general manager, Northern California and Northern Nevada at AT&T, said in a statement. “As the ways in which we communicate and seek entertainment become more data-intensive, our customers will benefit from our expansion of our GigaPower service.”

AT&T said it has lit up its fiber-based GigaPower platform in parts of Oklahoma City, Okla., while expanding 1-Gig deployments in Atlanta, Kansas City and Los Angeles.

The Oklahoma City deployment includes greater Canadian and Cleveland counties. In that market, AT&T’s standalone 1-Gig offering starts at $110 per month (AT&T's “Premier” plans require that customers participate in a targeted advertising program called AT&T Internet Preferences). 

The Atlanta extensions are bringing GigaPower to parts of Douglasville, Grayson, McDonough, Peachtree Corners and surrounding communities, with standalone 1-Gig starting at $70 per month.

AT&T has also branched further into the L.A. area with GigaPower launches in Corona, Fontana, Glendale, and Riverside, with standalone 1-Gig starting at $110 per month.

In Kansas City, Google Fiber’s first launched market, GigaPower is now extending into parts of Westwood, and matching up with 1-Gig starting at $70 per month.

AT&T also introduced 1-Gig for business customers in San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas and Miami.

AT&T estimates that GigaPower is currently available to 1.6 million locations in 21 metros. The telco has plans to offer GigaPower to parts of 35 more areas and a total of 14 million residential and commercial fiber-to-the-premises locations.

Google Fiber has launched services in Nashville, starting with a small number of apartment buildings and condos.

Per Google Fiber’s “apartment finder” for that market, it’s installed at Element Music Row, Icon In the Gulch, Bristol On Broadway, and Rhythm at Music Row, with many other multiple-dwelling units on tap. Google has also opened its first "Fiber Space" store in Nashville, The Tennessean and other local media outlets reported.

Google Fiber confirmed that the initial rollout in Nashville comes from the early progress of its own network buildout in Nashville, and not another example of it using existing infrastructure to reach MDUs as it’s begun to do in Atlanta ahead of its own network deployment.

Google Fiber has already released pricing in Nashville. Its 1-Gig standalone service runs $70 per month, with no install fee for apartments and condos, while its 1-Gig/TV combo starts at $130 per month. Customers can added the recently introduced  Google Fiber Phone service for an extra $10 per month. Google  Fiber is also selling a 100 Mbps service in Nashville for $50 per month.

In addition to Atlanta and Nashville, Google Fiber has also launched service in Kansas City; Austin, Texas; and Provo, Utah; and has committed to deploy in Salt Lake City; San Antonio; and Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

It’s also mulling expansions in Chicago; Portland, Ore.; Los Angeles, San Jose, Irvine and San Diego, Calif.; Phoenix; Oklahoma City; Louisville, Ky.; and Jacksonville and Tampa, Fla.

In Nashville, Google Fiber will come up against incumbent MSO, Comcast, which has identified Nashville as one of a handful of markets that will get gigabit broadband service on the new DOCSIS 3.1 platform later this year. Comcast launched an advanced consumer trial of a D3.1-based service in Atlanta last month. Comcast also offers Gigabit Pro, a fiber-based 2 Gbps residential service, in Nashville to eligible homes (those within one-third of a mile of Comcast’s fiber network).

Nashville is also a deployment city for GigaPower, AT&T's fiber-based platform. 

Following an initial foray into Los Angeles late last year, AT&T said it has expanded the reach of its fiber-based “GigaPower” platform to additional parts of the metro area spanning “tens of thousands of locations.”

The expansion, covering single family homes, apartments and small businesses, covers portions of Eastvale, Irvine, Los Angeles, and Orange County.

AT&T said it expects to triple availability of GigaPower in the area by the end of 2016, including Arcadia and Glendale.

In L.A., GigaPower’s standalone 1-Gig broadband service starts at $110 per month, or 300 Mbps starting at $80 per month, for customers on a “Premier” plan that requires participation in AT&T Internet Preferences, its targeted Web advertising program. Customers can also bolt on TV service from DirecTV or U-verse, and bundle in phone service.

AT&T said it has invested more than $2 billion in its L.A.-area wireless and wireline networks from 2012 to 2014.

AT&T noted that GigaPower is now offered in 20 metros (with plans to add another 36 metro areas), and ended 2015 with access to north of 1 million locations, a number that it intends to double by the end of the year. AT&T has not announced how many subscribers are on its GigaPower platform. 

AT&T said it has expanded the reach of GigaPower, its fiber-based 1-Gig platform for residential and business customers, to additional parts of five more markets:

-Chicago: Hampshire, Munster and St. John  (standalone 1-Gig starts at $110 per month)

-Miami: Coral Springs, North Miami and Tamarac (standalone 1-Gig starts at $110 per month)

-Dallas/Fort Worth: Richardson (standalone 1-Gig starts at $110 per month)

-Houston: Friendswood, Pearland, Manvel and Missouri City (standalone 1-Gig starts at $110 per month)

-San Antonio: Converse (standalone 1-Gig starts at $70 per month)

AT&T originally debuted GigaPower in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area on Aug. 14, 2014;  in Houston on April 6, 2015; in Chicago on April 20, 2015; in Miami on May 4, 2015; and in San Antonio on Sept. 28, 2015. 

AT&T, which acquired DirecTV last July, said it currently offers GigaPower to parts of 20 metros, with plans to expand it to 36 more.

AT&T said it has extended the reach of its fiber-based  GigaPower platform to more Nashville-area cities, including portions of Berry Hill, Brentwood and Hendersonville.

AT&T has already launched GigaPower and its 1-Gig capabiltires in other nearby cities and towns, including Clarksville, Franklin, Gallatin, Lebanon, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Smyrna, and Spring Hill.

In Nashville, AT&T competes with Comcast, which intends to launch DOCSIS 3.1-powered gigabit broadband service there later this year, and currently offers a symmetrical 2 Gbps offering called Gigabit Pro in the market using FTTP. Google Fiber is also deploying a network network there that will deliver a mix of gigabit broadband and pay TV services. 

GigaPower subs in these additional areas can also pair their broadband service with pay TV from U-verse or DirecTV, though AT&T, of late, has been steering new subs toward the lower-cost satellite TV platform. Those that opt for DirecTV will get immediate access to select TV content on compatible mobile devices via the DirecTV app – before installation – via the company’s “Walk out Watching” program.

Here’s how GigaPower pricing and packaging stacks up in this market:

•U-verse High Speed Internet Premier: Internet speeds up to 1Gbps starting at $70 a month.

•U-verse High Speed Internet Premier + TV: Up to 1Gbps, plus TV service starting at $120 per month.

•U-verse High Speed Internet Premier + TV + Voice: 1Gbps, plus TV and U-verse voice starting at $150 per month.

Subs who take the Premier plans agree to participate in AT&T Internet Preferences, the company's targeted Web advertising program.

AT&T said its GigaPower network currently spans more than 1 million “locations,” and that it expects to double availability by the end of 2016.

AT&T said it has expanded service for AT&T  GigaPower, its fiber-based broadband platform for residential and small business customers to parts of four markets – Atlanta, Chicago, Miami and Dallas/Ft. Worth.

Here’s how the latest batch of GigaPower expansions breaks down:

-Atlanta,  including Buford, Jonesboro, Lawrenceville, Norcross, Roswell, Sugar Hill and Suwanee. Standalone 1-Gig service there starts at $70 per month, $120 per month with TV service, and $150 per month for a triple-play.

-Chicago, including Pingree Grove, Plano and Sugar Grove. In that market, standalone 1-Gig starts at $110 per month, while a pay TV bundle starts at $150 per month, and a triple-play bundle starting at $180 per month.

-Miami, including Cooper City, Miami Lakes, Miramar, Pembroke Pines and Plantation. GigaPower pricing there follows AT&T’s pricing for the Chicago area.

-Dallas/Ft. Worth, including Cedar Hill, Colleyville, DeSoto, Joshua, Keene, Keller, Lakeside, Little Elm and Roanoke. GigaPower pricing in Dallas/Ft. Worth mirrors AT&T’ pricing for Chicago.

Customers in those markets have the option to pair GigaPower with DirecTV or U-verse TV services.

Notably, Atlanta, Chicago, and Miami are among the initial handful of markets that Comcast has ticketed for DOCSIS 3.1 to deliver gigabit broadband on its widely deployed HFC network later this year. 

AT&T said GigaPower is now available in 20 major metros, and is moving forward on expansions that will extend service to parts of another 36.

Bernstein Research has been outspoken in its bullishness on Google Fiber’s prospects compared to other Wall Street analysts, and in the wake of potential expansions into Los Angeles and Chicago, the investment research firm now wonders if it’s not being bullish enough.

“We have never said that Google Fiber will certainly be large or profitable," Bernstein Research held in a research note issued Thursday under the title: Google Fiber - Have We Been Too Bearish? "Instead, we think it could very well be profitable, which is in stark contrast to the Street's unambiguously negative view,”

Historically, the research group has held that Google Fiber faces a lengthy buildout process that won’t reach more than 10 million homes passed in the next few years, unless it goes after some major cities and surrounding metro areas.

That’s exactly what Google Fiber is now contemplating as it explores (but has yet to commit to) deployments in L.A. and Chicago – the biggest possible undertaking for Google Fiber so far.

If Google Fiber were to go full-throttle build out 75% of those markets over the next five years, it would pass 6.3 million homes and 1.6 million business locations there alone, Bernstein Research said, noting that the move would still limit Google’s exposure to FiOS, which is only deployed to a small piece of L.A.

Google has not formally entered either of those markets, but the prospect is giving Bernstein Research some second thoughts about its future scale. “Our high end estimate of 20-25 million homes passed by Google Fiber may prove less aggressive than we thought,” it said.

In October, the firm estimated that Google Fiber’s network passed about 427,000 homes and 96,000 business locations, primarily in Kansas City and Provo, Utah, and that it had signed up as many as 120,000 paid subs.

Despite AT&T’s recent, more aggressive commitment for GigaPower, its fiber-based gigabit platform, Bernstein Research still thinks Google Fiber poses a bigger threat to cable’s broadband business.

While DOCSIS 3.1 will enable MSOs to deliver “comparable headline speeds” to Google Fiber via widely deployed HFC networks, the greater concern is that “Google's entry will make it difficult to raise broadband prices to the extent possible when competing against a more cooperative telco provider.”

Comcast confirmed that the MSO has expanded the availability of Gigabit Pro, its FTTP-based symmetrical 2 Gbps residential broadband service, to the Northeast Division, which serves about 8 million customers across more than a dozen states, including Maine, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

A user on the DSL Reports message board posted a revised Gigabit Pro coverage map illustrating the expansion.

Comcast’s current (older) Gigabit Pro availability map identifies other towns and cities that have access in parts of California, Utah, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Washington, Minnesota, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, and Oregon.

Comcast started to sell Gigabit Pro in July for a promotional price of $159 per month; the general price for the up-capped service is $299.95 per month. It’s subject to a two-year agreement and fees of up to $500 for installation and $500 for activation.

Comcast introduced Gigabit Pro in April, announcing then that it would make it available to 18 million customers by the end of 2015. To get it, customers must be within a third of a mile of the MSO’s fiber network.

Comcast is deploying Gigabit Pro on a demand-driven basis, only pulling fiber and installing the necessary home-side gear to customers who sign up for it. The operator is also looking to offer gigabit speeds on broader basis on its HFC network using the emerging DOCSIS 3.1 platform. 

It's been a big week for gigabit expansions. AT&T announced yesterday it was expanding GigaPower to parts of 38 metros, while Google Fiber revealed plans today to explore buildouts in two major U.S. cities -- Chicago and Los Angeles. 

In an announcement that could boost competition with incumbent providers such as Comcast and AT&T, Google Fiber said it’s exploring an expansion that would bring its 1-Gig and pay TV services to Chicago and Los Angeles.

Google Fiber has invited authorities in those cities to explore the idea after the provider refined its buildout checklist.

“Now, we’re ready to use that same process to work with two of the biggest cities in the country, Jill Szuchmacher, director of Google Fiber expansion, said Tuesday in this blog post.  "Home to a combined 6+ million people, Chicago and L.A. are the two largest metros we’ve engaged with to date.”

The exploration and reach out with those cities are a “big step” in the process, she added, but noted that there’s no guarantee that Google Fiber will launch in Chicago and/or L.A.

But if it does, it will amp up competition in those markets.

In L.A., Google Fiber would come up against Time Warner Cable, the area’s primary MSO incumbent that’s merging with Charter Communications, and AT&T, which recently identified Los Angeles as an expansion site for its fiber-fed GigaPower platform. In June, the city of Los Angeles approved a request for participants (RFP) as part of the CityLinkLA project  to identify one or more providers to commit to deploying wireline and WiFi networks that can deliver speeds of 1 Gbps, and complete the job within the next five years.

In Chicago, Google Fiber would tangle with overbuilder RCN, and Comcast, which has introduced its 2 Gbps “Gigabit Pro” FTTP offering in the Windy City. AT&T has also launched GigaPower to parts of Chicago.

Google Fiber currently offers service in three markets – Kansas City; Provo, Utah; and Austin, Texas; and has buildouts underway in Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Nashville, Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte.

Google Fiber’s also exploring buildouts in Portland, Ore.; San Jose, Irvine and San Diego, Calif.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Oklahoma City; Louisville, Ky.; and Jacksonville and Tampa, Fla.

Google Fiber has not released subscriber counts for its gigabit broadband and pay TV services, but Bernstein Researchestimated recently that it has between 100,000 to 120,000 paid subs, and that its network currently passes about 427,000 homes and 96,000 business locations.

With its merger with DirecTV long closed, AT&T has begun to apply more focus on its GigaPower platform, announcing Monday that it will expand the reach of its fiber-based network to homes, businesses and apartment buildings to parts of another 38 metros.

AT&T didn't detail the rollout timing, but said those additions will expand GigaPower’s footprint to 56 metros.

AT&T has expanded its live GigaPower footprint to portions of 20 metros with the addition of Los Angeles, Calif.; and West Palm Beach, Fla. AT&T has not revealed how many GigaPower subscribers have signed on, but Brad Bentley, AT&T Entertainment Group’s EVP and chief marketing officer, said in a statement that customer demand and sales of GigaPower “have exceeded expectations” since the initial launch in Austin, Texas, about two years ago. 

AT&T said its GigaPower network now passes 1 million “locations,” and that it expects to more than double that number by the end of 2016.

With the Los Angeles West Palm Beach rollouts factored in, here are the markets AT&T has identified for its latest GigaPower expansion wave:

-Alabama: Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile and Montgomery

-Arkansas: Fort Smith/Northwest Arkansas and Little Rock

-California: Bakersfield, Fresno, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose

-Florida: Pensacola and West Palm Beach

-Georgia: Augusta

-Indiana: Indianapolis

-Kansas: Wichita

-Kentucky: Louisville

-Louisiana: Baton Rouge, Shreveport-Bossier, Jefferson Parish region and the Northshore

-Mississippi: Jackson

-Missouri: St. Louis

-Michigan: Detroit

-Nevada: Reno

-North Carolina: Asheville

-Ohio: Cleveland and Columbus

-Oklahoma: Oklahoma City and Tulsa

-South Carolina: Charleston, Columbia and Greenville

-Tennessee: Memphis

-Texas: El Paso and Lubbock

-Wisconsin: Milwaukee

AT&T has set up an online map that tracks deployments and availability of GigaPower.

AT&T noted that customers in the majority of its GigaPower markets looking to bundle pay TV service will have the option to choose between DirecTV or U-verse TV. 

AT&T said it has launched its fiber-based GigaPower platform to parts of several new areas in and around markets such as Atlanta, Chicago and Houston.

Here’s the latest batch of expansions and pricing on a market-by-market basis:

-Atlanta: Alpharetta, Cartersville, Duluth, East Point and Rome. Standalone 1-Gig for $70/month, 1-Gig+TV starting at $120/month, and 1-Gig, TV and voice starting at $150/month.

-Chicago: Bolingbrook, Mundelein, Shorewood and Volo. Standalone 1-Gig for $110/month; 1-Gig + TV starting at $150/month; and 1-Gig+TV+voice starting at $180/month.

-Clemmons, Holly Springs, Salisbury, and Garner, N.C. Standalone 1-Gig for $70/month, 1-Gig+TV starting at $120/month, and 1-Gig, TV and voice starting at $150/month.

-Nashville: Gallatin and Spring Hill. Standalone 1-Gig for $70/month, 1-Gig+TV starting at $120/month, and 1-Gig, TV and voice starting at $150/month.

-Houston: Hunters Creek Village and Rosenberg. Standalone 1-Gig for $110/month; 1-Gig + TV starting at $150/month; and 1-Gig+TV+voice starting at $180/month.

-Miami: Coral Gables, Homestead, Miami Gardens and Parkland. Standalone 1-Gig for $110/month; 1-Gig + TV starting at $150/month; and 1-Gig+TV+voice starting at $180/month.

-Orlando: Oviedo and Sanford. Standalone 1-Gig for $110/month; 1-Gig + TV starting at $150/month; and 1-Gig+TV+voice starting at $180/month.

AT&T also announced plans to offer service in parts of the St. Louis metro, in addition to the 18 metros where U-verse with GigaPower is already available.

In addition to the 18 metros where AT&T offers GigaPower, the telco also has plans to offer it in parts of the  St. Louis metro. AT&T recently launched an interactive map that tracks GigaPower’s progress.

AT&T on Monday (November 2) launched its fiber-based GigaPower service in Jacksonville, Fla., a debut that comes  more than a year after the telco announced plans to launch the 1-Gig offering in that market.

AT&T said it is also offering GigaPower in multi-family properties and apartments in the Jacksonville are, including Frassati Hall, Galleria at Cabana Club Plummer’s Creek, and Spyglass, and that it intends to make GigaPower available in parts of St. Augustine in the first half of 2016.

In Jacksonville, AT&T is offering standalone 1-Gig service starting at $110 per month, or 300 Mbps starting at $80 per month, with a one-year price guarantee.  1-Gig/TV bundles start at $120 per month, and triple-play bundles with 1-Gig start at $180 per month.

AT&T, which recently merged with DirecTV,  will look to amp up the broadband competition in Jacksonville with incumbent cable operator Comcast, which recently introduced Gigabit Pro, a symmetrical 2 Gbps FTTP offering that’s available to eligible customers who are within one-third of a mile of Comcast’s fiber network.  Comcast is selling Gigabit Pro in Jacksonville for $299.95 per month, with a two-year agreement.

Google Fiber, which has been selling standalone 1-Gig service for $70 per month in select areas, announced last month that it is exploring expansions in Jacksonville, as well as Tampa and Oklahoma City, Okla.

AT&T said GigaPower is now available in 18 metros, and recently expanded availability to parts of Georgia, North Carolina, Kansas City, Florida and Chicago. The telco, which claims to have invested nearly $2.8 billion in its Florida wireless and wireline networks between 2012 and 2014, also has plans to offer GigaPower in parts of St. Louis.  

AT&T recently introducedaninteractive map that tracks GigaPower rollouts.

AT&T said it has expanded the availability of its fiber-based GigaPower service to additional residential and business locations in parts of Georgia, North Carolina, Kansas City, Florida and Chicago.

-Georgia: Parts of Athens, Covington, Johns Creek and Smyrna, complementing access in portions of Atlanta, Brookhaven, Decatur, Dunwoody, Newnan, Milton, Sandy Springs, and Woodstock. Standalone 1-Gig there starts at $70 per month, $120 when bundled with TV, and $150 when bundled with U-verse TV and U-verse voice.

-Kansas City: Parts of Belton, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Lee’s Summit and Raymore, expanding on access in parts of Independence and Kansas City, Mo., and  Fairway, Leawood, Lenexa, Mission Hills, Olathe, Overland Park, Prairie Village and Shawnee, Kan.  Standalone 1-Gig service in these areas starts at $70 per month, $120 when bundled with TV, and $150 when bundled with U-verse TV and U-verse voice.

-Florida: Residential and small business customers in Coconut Creek, Davie, Doral and Oakland Park, expanding on builds in Fort Lauderdale, Hialeah, Hollywood, Miami, and Pompano Beach.  In those markets, standalone 1-Gig starts at $110 per month.

-North Carolina: Added access to Huntersville, expanding on access to parts of Apex, Carrboro, Cary, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Durham, Gastonia, Greensboro, Morrisville, Raleigh,  and Winston-Salem . Standalone 1-gig starts at $70 per month.

-Chicago area: AT&T is bringing GigaPower to Aurora, Huntley and Joliet, expanding on its reach in the city of Chicago, Des Plaines, Elgin, Manhattan, Norridge, Oswego, Plainfield, Skokie, and Yorkville.  Standalone 1-Gig starts there for $110 per month.

AT&T has also been applying a monthly data consumption policy to GigaPower that caps usage at 1-terabyte before charging $10 for each additional bucket of 50 Gigabytes, with a maximum monthly overage charge of $30. 

AT&T said U-verse with AT&T GigaPower is currently available in 17 metros, with plans underway to expand to Jacksonville and St. Louis.

AT&T recently introduced an interactive map that tracks GigaPower rollouts.

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With 1 Gigabit-per-second now viewed as the bar for high-end residential broadband speeds, AT&T has been leaping over it with GigaPower, a fiber-based broadband platform that can complement its other services.

And with the DirecTV deal wrapped up, AT&T is also going to push harder on the deployment front to make make fiber available to a mix of 14 million customer locations, including both residences and businesses.

As of today (Sept. 28), AT&T will have GigaPower up and running in parts of 17 markets, following its most recent launches in Orlando, Fla., and San Antonio, Texas.

“In terms of coverage by end of year, we’ll be available in more than 1 million locations,” Eric Boyer, senior vice president of GigaPower, commercial and connected communities, said. “There’s not a lot of public disclosures out there among gigabit providers, but if we’re not the biggest, we’re awful darn close.”

AT&T is pushing the needle in the 1-Gig arena as competition continues to heat up. In addition to the specter of Google Fiber in select areas, cable operators are also starting to use fiber-to-the-premises in a targeted fashion, complementing their widespread DOCSIS 3.0 platforms. And cable’s multi-Gigabit DOCSIS 3.1 platform is on the horizon.

As for AT&T’s accelerating GigaPower rollout, Boyer attributes it to a mix of factors, including partnerships with local franchises, improving deployment and operational processes, and falling technology costs.

“It helps to have a partner at the municipal level that’s willing to work with us to ensure that we’re able to deploy quickly and efficiently and do it in the right way,” he said. “Those partnerships are so critical in terms of our ability to bring the service quickly and efficiently.”

AT&T, which got GigaPower off the ground in 2013 in Austin, Texas, and continues to base its deployments on GPON technology, has not said how many customers have GigaPower, but “the customer demand has just been outstanding,” Boyer said, noting it’s coming by way of customers who are upgrading services or switching from other providers.

While AT&T has traditionally teamed GigaPower with U-verse TV services, it’s also going to take advantage of its DirecTV acquisition, particularly with apartments and other types of multiple-dwelling units.

“That’s a key part of our GigaPower story moving forward,” he said of the MDU market, noting that AT&T already has an in-region direct sales force for U-verse and will also take advantage of DirecTV’s national dealer network.

Taking a page from the Google Fiber playbook, AT&T has introduced a map that charts the deployment progress of its fiber-based GigaPower platform, highlighting cities that have the 1-Gig service today, have rollouts underway or are being “explored” for potential future launches.

Updated: AT&T pointed out that its new mapping system is more interactive in that it allows customers to view GigaPower markets but also drill down to the city level for more detail on where GigaPower is being deployed and where it will be deployed. 

“Potential customers, city officials, gig seekers or anyone planning a move can use the new interactive map at att.com/gigapowermap to keep up on our progress as we add new cities,” Joey Schultz,  AT&T’s vice president of home solutions, digital experience, expalined in this blog post.

He said GigaPower is now rolled out to parts of 15 markets, with plans to extend access to cities such as Jacksonville, St. Louis and San Antonio. AT&T, which recently completed its acquisition of DirecTV, plans to extend the reach of GigaPower to 14 million residential and commercial locations.

The map rollout follows a wave of GigaPower expansion announcements made earlier this week:

-Nine additional Dallas/Fort Worth-area cities: Burleson, Cleburne, Fate, Forney, Grand Prairie, Mansfield, Rockwall, The Colony and Trophy Club. Standalone 1-Gig service there starts at $110 per month, if customers opt to participate in AT&T Internet Preferences, the company’s targeted Web ad program.

-Expansion to parts of Cypress,  Fulshear and West University Place, in the Houston area. 1-Gig there also starts at $110 a month.

-Extensions to Pompano Beach, Fla., with 1-Gig starting at $120 per month.

-Expansions in the Atlanta area to parts of Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Milton and Woodstock, with 1-Gig starting at $120 per month.

In markets such as Austin, which happens to be in Google Fiber country, AT&T is selling GigaPower for $70 per month.

AT&T has also been applying a monthly data consumption policy to GigaPower that caps usage at 1-terabyte before charging $10 for each additional bucket of 50 Gigabytes, with a maximum monthly overage charge of $30. 

Google Fiber has committed to bring its mix of gigabit broadband and TV services to San Antonio, and an official announcement could emerge later today, according to several local reports citing unnamed city officials. Radio station WOAI noted that Google had recently posted an ad that seeks a city manager for Google Fiber in San Antonio. 

Update: Google Fiber confirmed Wednesday that it will be coming to San  Antonio, noting that it will be “the largest Fiber city to date,” according to this blog post from Mark Strama, Head of Google Fiber, Texas.

“Soon, we’ll enter the design phase of building our fiber network in San Antonio,” he added. “We’ll work closely with city leaders over the next several months to plan the layout of over 4,000 miles of fiber-optic cables—enough to stretch to Canada and back—across the metro area. This is no small task, and it will take some time, but we can’t wait to get started.”

Google Fiber has also set up a Web site that will track its progress in San  Antonio. 

Google Fiber's entry there will amp up competition with area incumbents AT&T and Time Warner Cable, which initiated its “TWC Maxx” upgrade in San Antonio in February. AT&T has also identified San Antonio for “GigaPower,” its 1-Gig, fiber-based platform.  

San Antonio was one  34 possible expansion cities in nine metro that Google Fiber was exploring back in February 2014. San Antonio did not make the cut when Google Fiber announced plans in January 2015 to expand to 18 cities in four metro areas. However, San Antonio approved a real estate deal with Google Fiber in March that appeared to show that a future deployment was a distinct possibility. 

Google Fiber has also been making noise in Tempe, Ariz., as the city council recently voted its approval for the ISP to enter the market, setting up the potential for more competition with CenturyLink and Cox Communications, which is already in the midst of a plan to deploy gigabit services across its entire service footprint.  

Phoenix (including Scottsdale and Tempe) was also on Google Fiber’s original list of potential expansion sites, but the company has yet to confirm that it will build there.

“Tempe has been great to work with as we’ve explored bringing Google Fiber to the city, and this Video Services License is an important next step for our progress in the area,” a Google Fiber spokesperson said, in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to work with Tempe and the rest of the Valley as we consider bringing superfast Internet to metro Phoenix.”

Google Fiber has already launched or will soon service in Kansas City; Provo, Utah; and Austin, Texas. Google Fiber has deployment plans underway in Salt Lake City; Nashville, Tenn.; Atlanta; Charlotte; and Raleigh-Durham.

“Potential” Google Fiber cities include Portland, Ore.; San Jose; and Phoenix.

Google Fiber’s build out in Raleigh, N.C., is gearing up now that the ISP/pay TV provider has identified nine initial locations for its “fiber huts,” The News & Observerreported (hat tip: DSL Reports).

Those huts, each 28 feet long and nine feet tall, will supply the backbone of a network that will deliver a mix of gigabit broadband and pay TV services, the paper noted, citing Mike Basham, Raleigh’s broadband manager.

Per its typical game plan in other cities, Google Fiber will build and deploy services using its demand-based model. Google Fiber has already identified several other cities in the area that are being targeted for service -- Carrboro,  Chapel Hill, Durham, Morrisville, Cary, and Garner. Google Fiber plans to deploy more than 5,700 miles of fiber and install 26 fiber huts in the area, the paper said.

Google Fiber will be tangling with AT&T, which has been deploying its fiber-based “GigaPower” platform in the region, and with Time Warner Cable, which began its ‘TWC Maxx’ upgrades in Raleigh back in March.

Google Fiber has deployed service in Kansas City; Provo, Utah; and Austin, Texas. In January, it announced plans to expand to 18 new cities across four metro areas in the Southeast U.S. -- Atlanta, Ga.; Charlotte, N.C.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

AT&T said it has launched its 1-Gig, fiber-based “GigaPower” service to portions of two more cities in North Carolina – Durham and Greensboro -- moves that will amp up broadband competition with incumbent cable MSO Time Warner Cable.

The launch of AT&T GigaPower in those markets stems from a North Carolina Next Generation Network (NCNGN) initiative comprised of six cities, four universities, and local businesses. AT&T has also made GigaPower available to other cities and towns in the state, including Apex, Cary, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Morrisville, and Winston-Salem.

While TWC, which is ramping up speeds through its own “TWC Maxx” initiative, is the incumbent MSO in the market, Google Fiber is also preparing to build a fiber-based 1-Gig that will be offered in portions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, N.C., as part of an 18-city expansion announced in January. 

In Durham and Greensboro, AT&T will sell a 1 Gbps standalone broadband service starting for $70 per month to customers who opt for a “Premier” tier that requires them to participate in the telco’s Internet Preferences targeted Web advertising initiative. GigaPower also comes with a monthly data policy that caps usage at 1-terabyte before charging $10 for each additional bucket of 50 Gigabytes, with a maximum monthly overage charge of $30. 

In the new N.C. GigaPower markets, AT&T is also selling broadband-TV bundles that start at $120 per month, and a triple-play bundle that starts at $150 per month.

AT&T's GigaPower pricing tends to skew higher in markets that have not been targeted by Google Fiber. 

AT&T has launched GigaPower in 15 markets so far, including Atlanta; Austin, Dallas, Houston and Ft. Worth, Texas; Chicago; Cupertino, Calif.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Kansas City. AT&T also has plans underway to debut it in parts of Jacksonville, Fla.; St. Louis; and San Antonio, Texas.  

As a commitment tied to its pending acquisition of DirecTV, AT&T has also said it would expand its GigaPower network to an additional 2 million customer locations that are over and above what the company announced in 2014. 

AT&T said it is working with property owners, management groups and developers on deals that would clear the way for the telco to deploy its fiber-based “GigaPower” platform to apartments and other types of multiple-dwelling units (MDUs).

AT&T said the plan, which would expand the reach of its 1 Gbps-capable service, is to focus initially on areas where GigaPower is launched or will soon be launched: Atlanta; Chicago; Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth and Houston, Texas; Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Raleigh-Durham, and Greensboro, N.C.; Cupertino, Calif.; Jacksonville and Miami, Fla; Kansas City; Nashville, Tenn.; and St. Louis.

AT&T said its Connected Communities team is working with property owners and managers who are interested in bringing this service to their location, and has outlined three steps:

-Evaluation: Nominate property for GigaPower consideration at www.att.com/fiberproperties.

-Design: AT&T engineers will develop a fiber overbuild design of the legacy network to be approved by selected property stakeholders.

-Deploy: Once a deal is reached, AT&T will install the GigaPower network.

“We’re working with property owners, management groups, homeowner associations and developers to expand the availability of high-speed Internet over our AT&T GigaPower network,” Joni Arison, AT&T senior vice president of AT&T Emerging Markets, said in a statement. “This will make properties more attractive by offering Internet speeds up to 1 gigabit per second so residents can quickly connect to the cloud, telecommute more easily, video chat in real-time and stream the latest entertainment.”

“We’ve seen tremendous growth in apartments, condos and communities. There’s also more demand by residents to stay connected to the content that matters most,” added Scott DeGarmo, president and CEO of Broadband Communities. 

AT&T has launched its fiber-based “GigaPower” service to parts of Charlotte, N.C., a move that puts some speed pressure on incumbent cable operator, Time Warner Cable, and comes ahead of Google Fiber’s planned deployment in that market.

To qualified homes in Charlotte, AT&T is offering a standalone 1 Gbps service starting at $70 per month (when customers agree to participate in AT&T’s Internet Preferences, the telco’s targeted Web advertising program), essentially matching up with the price Google Fiber has been selling its standalone 1-Gig service. AT&T has been selling GigaPower's standalone 1-Gig service for more in other markets.

But unlike Google Fiber, AT&T has been applying a monthly data consumption policy to GigaPower that caps usage at 1-terabyte before charging $10 for each additional bucket of 50 Gigabytes, with a maximum monthly overage charge of $30.

AT&T is also pairing 1-Gig with TV starting at $120 per month, and a triple-play package starting at $150 per month.

TWC, meanwhile, is implementing an all-digital upgrade in Charlotte that is resulting in free residential Internet speed upgrades that, for example, will see its Ultimate tier, jump from 50 Mbps (downstream) to 300 Mbps. TWC expects to complete that “TWC Maxx” upgrade in Charlotte this summer.

In addition to Charlotte, AT&T has launched GigaPower  in parts of Atlanta; Austin, Dallas, Houston, and Ft. Worth, Texas; Chicago; Cupertino,, Calif.; Nashville, Tenn.; Kansas City; and Raleigh-Durham and Winston-Salem, N.C. AT&T has plans to launch it in parts of Greensboro, Jacksonville, Miami, St. Louis and San Antonio.

AT&T has also committed to expand GigaPower network to an additional 2 million customer locations as part of its proposed merger with DirecTV.

AT&T said it has invested more than $1.6 billion in its wireless and wired networks in North Carolina between 2012 and 2014.

Elsewhere in the AT&T U-verse universe, the telco announced last week that it has introduced a 75 Mbps option in several more markets -- Chicago; Cincinnati; Columbus/Tupelo/West Point/Hattiesburg, Miss.; Panama City and Gainesville, Fla.; Little Rock; Monroe, La./El Dorado, Ark.; Tulsa; and Wilmington, N.C. AT&T said that option is now available in parts of more than 100 cities.

AT&T has been selling that tier, which is paired with an 8 Mbps upstream, for $74.95 per month as a stand-alone service. The telco is enabling that speed in certain portions of those cities following upgrades to a new 17 MHz signal that provides twice the capacity of the 8.5 MHz signal previously available.

Comcast said it has begun to rollout “Gigabit Pro,” its fiber-fed symmetrical 2 Gbps residential broadband service in Houston and Denver, while also introducing a new DOCSIS 3.0-based 250 Mbps service that’s delivered on the MSO’s hybrid fiber/coax plant.

In Houston, Comcast said it will launch Gigabit Pro this summer and make it available to 1.5 million homes. The new D3.0 service, Extreme 250, is available now.

Notably, AT&T launched its 1-Gig residential service, “GigaPower,” to parts of Houston in April, starting at $110 per month.

In Colorado, Comcast said it will offer Gigabit Pro to nearly 1 million homes in the metro Denver area and Colorado Springs this summer, along with widespread availability of the new 250-Meg service. Comcast’s primary wireline competitor there is CenturyLink, which has already launched a 1-Gig service in the Denver area. That summer deployment will also reach into Fort Collins, Loveland and Longmont, according toThe Denver Post.

Update: Comcast also announced it has begun to deploy Gigabit Pro in Utah (Google Fiber is operating in Provo); Washington State (including Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, and Everett); to 650,000 customers in Oregon and southwest Washington; to more than 600,000 homes in Minneapolis/St. Paul; and, starting in June, to about 190,000 customers in Knoxville, Tenn., and its surrounding communities. 

Comcast plans to make Gigabit Pro available to 18 million homes by the end of the year. The service, which relies on targeted fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) deployments, will be available to residential customers who are within “close proximity” (about a third of a mile) of the MSO’s fiber network. Deployments are also underway in Chicago and northwest Indiana; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Atlanta; parts of Florida, including Miami and Jacksonville; and certain areas of California

Comcast has not announced pricing for Gigabit Pro, though a promotional Web site that appeared temporarily indicated that the service would start at $299 per month. At the time, Comcast said the site was put up in error and that pricing, including introductory and promotional rates for Gigabit Pro, were still being considered.

The MSO will also deliver gigabit residential speeds using DOCSIS 3.1, an emerging next-gen IP platform for HFC that Comcast is currently testing ahead of deployments expected to begin in early 2016.

Comcast offered a preview of a D3.1-based  “Gigabit Home Gateway” at the INTX show in Chicago,  noting that the device will enter production this year and become available to customers in early 2016. 

AT&T has launched its fiber-based “GigaPower” service in portions of Nashville, Tenn., where the telco currently competes with Comcast, and an area that is also being targeted with gigabit speeds by Google Fiber.

AT&T said its 1-Gig service is available in parts of Clarksville, Lebanon, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Smyrna and other surrounding communities in the Nashville metro area.

In Nashville, AT&T’s stand-alone 1-Gig service starts at $120 per month, while a 100 Mbps offering begins at $90 per month, with a one-year price guarantee, if customers agree to participate in AT&T Internet Preferences, the telco’s targeted Web advertising program. AT&T’s 1-Gig/U-verse TV bundles start at $150 per month, while its triple-play package (1-Gig, plus U-verse TV and U-verse Voice) starts at $180 per month. AT&T is selling GigaPower services for less in Kansas City, where Google Fiber has already launched 1-Gig broadband and pay TV services, including an uncapped, stand-alone 1 Gbps offering that runs $70 per month. 

AT&T has been applying a monthly data consumption policy to GigaPower that caps usage at 1-terabyte before charging $10 for each additional bucket of 50 Gigabytes, with a maximum monthly overage charge of $30.

AT&T has also launched GigaPower in parts of Chicago; Atlanta; Austin, Dallas, Houston and Fort Worth, Texas; Cupertino, Calif.; Kansas City; and Raleigh-Durham and Winston-Salem, N.C.   AT&T has announced plans to deploy GigaPower in several other markets, including Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C.; Jacksonville and Miami, Fla.; St. Louis; and San Antonio. The telco has also pledged to expand its fiber-based platform to an additional 2 million customer locations as part of its proposed acquisition of DirecTV.

AT&T is deploying GigaPower in Nashville as competition continues to heat up in the market. Earlier this month, Comcast announced that it would soon begin to offer Gigabit Pro, its new residential 2 Gbps broadband service, in Nashville and middle Tennessee. Nashville is also being targeted by Google Fiber as part of an 18-city expansion.

AT&T has launched its fiber-based, 1-Gig-capable “GigaPower” service in parts of Chicago, where the telco competes with Comcast and RCN Corp.

AT&T said it will initially offer GigaPower in parts of Elgin, Oswego, Plainfield, Skokie, Yorkville and “surrounding communities located throughout the metro area.” AT&T estimates that it has invested more than $3 billion on its wireless and wired networks in Illinois between 2012 through 2014.

Comcast has identified Atlanta and California as markets that will get its new FTTP-powered “Gigabit Pro,” which will deliver symmetrical 2 Gbps speeds on a targeted basis to residential customers. Comcast plans to make Gigabit Pro available to as many as 18 million homes this year, but has not yet said when it will offered in the Chicago market. Comcast also plans to offer gigabit speeds on its more broadly deployed HFC network using DOCSIS 3.1.

In Chicago, AT&T is selling stand-alone 1-Gig starting at $120 per month, or 100 Mbps starting at $90 per month, under a “Premier” tier that requires customers to participate in the telco’s Internet Preferences targeted Web advertising initiative. The 1-Gig/TV bundle starts at $150 per month, while a triple-play version starts at $180 per month. AT&T has also been applying a monthly data consumption policy to GigaPower that caps usage at 1-terabyte before charging $10 for each additional bucket of 50 Gigabytes, with a maximum monthly overage charge of $30.

AT&T is selling GigaPower services for less in Kansas City, where Google Fiber has already launched 1-Gig broadband and pay TV services, including an uncapped, stand-alone 1 Gbps offering that runs $70 per month. 

AT&T has also launched GigaPower in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston and Fort Worth, Texas; Cupertino, Calif.; Kansas City; and Raleigh-Durham and Winston-Salem, N.C.   AT&T has announced plans to deploy GigaPower in parts of several other markets, including Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C.; Chicago; Jacksonville and Miami, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn.; St. Louis; and San Antonio. 

The telco has also pledged to expand its fiber-based platform to an additional 2 million customer locations as part of its proposed acquisition of DirecTV.

AT&T has launched its fiber-based 1-Gig-capable GigaPower service to parts of Atlanta, taking aim at a market that is also being targeted by Google Fiber, and a city that will serve as the launch point of Comcast's new 2-Gbps FTTP offering.

AT&T said it will offer GigaPower, along with a new WiFi residential gateway, to qualified parts of Atlanta, Decatur, Newnan and Sandy Springs.

In Atlanta, AT&T is selling a 1-Gbps stand-alone service will start at $120 per month, while a 100-Mbps service will begin at $90 per month, for customers who agree to participate in Internet Preferences, AT&T's targeted advertising program for the Web. AT&T’s 1-Gig/TV bundle starts at $150 per month, and a triple-play service begins at $180 per month.  AT&T is pitching services at lower prices in Kansas City, where Google Fiber has already launched 1-Gig and pay-TV services.

Google Fiber selected Atlanta as one of four metro areas tagged for expansion, but has not announced when services will launch there.

Comcast, meanwhile, announced recently that, starting next month, Atlanta will be the first market to get Gigabit Pro, an uncapped, 2 Gbps service offered via fiber-to-the-premises technology. Comcast has not priced the service, but expects to make it available to about 1.5 million customers in Atlanta, and expand availability to 18 million more homes as it offers Gigabit Pro to additional markets throughout 2015. Comcast said it will also use DOCSIS 3.1 on its hybrid fiber/coax network to increase the reach of gigabit broadband.

AT&T said  it has invested about $2.8 billion in its wireless and wired networks in Atlanta between 2012 and 2014. The company has also launched GigaPower service in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Fort Worth, Texas; Cupertino, Calif.; Kansas City; and Raleigh-Durham and Winston-Salem, N.C.

AT&T has announced plans to deploy GigaPower in parts of several other markets, including Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C.; Chicago; Jacksonville and Miami, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn.; St. Louis; and San Antonio.  The telco has also pledged to expand its fiber-based platform to an additional 2 million customer locations as part of its proposed acquisition of DirecTV.

Roughly eight months after making the commitment, AT&T said it has followed with the launch of its 1-Gig-capable GigaPower service in Houston, where the telco competes with Comcast.

The U-verse with GigaPower offering for residential and small businesses is launching in pockets of Houston and surrounding areas that include Bellaire, Pasadena, and Northwest Harris County, the telco said.

For those who qualify, GigaPower in Houston will start at $110 per month for 1 Gbps, or $80 for 300 Mbps, for customers who agree to participate in in AT&T Internet Preferences targeted ad program.

Comcast last week introduced Gigabit Pro, an uncapped, fiber-based, symmetrical 2 Gbps service that will initially be offered in Atlanta, and expects to make it available to other systems passing 18 million homes by the end of 2015. Comcast has not announced when it will offer Gigabit Pro in Houston.

The launch in Houston follows a recent debut of GigaPower in Cupertino and in parts of Kansas City,  where AT&T is offering a stand-alone version of the 1-Gig service for $70 per month, a price that matches up with Google Fiber’s standalone gigabit plan there.

AT&T has also launched GigaPower  in Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth, Texas; and Raleigh-Durham and Winston-Salem, N.C. AT&T has announced plans to deploy GigaPower in parts of 11 additional markets – Atlanta; Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C.; Chicago; Houston; Jacksonville, Fla.; Miami; Nashville, Tenn.; St. Louis and San Antonio.

AT&T has said it’s weighing GigaPower rollouts in up to 100 cities across 25 markets, and has also pledged to expand its fiber-based platform to an additional 2 million customer locations as part of its proposed acquisition of DirecTV.

GigaPower has reached the West coast.

AT&T announced Monday that it has rolled out its fiber-based, 1-Gig capable fiber-based platform to parts of Cupertino, Calif., the tech-savvy city that serves as the home of Apple.

AT&T, which counts Comcast among its competitors there, also announced that GigaPower subs in Cupertino will get an upgraded WiFi gateway.

In Cupertino areas that are eligible, AT&T will sell its “Premier” 1-Gig service starting at $110 per month, if customers agree to participate in AT&T Internet Preferences, the telco’s targeted ad program taps into a customer's Web search terms and Web site visits. The 1-Gig/TV bundle starts at $150 per month, and a triple-play package with 1-Gig starts at $180 per month. AT&T is also pitching a 300 Mbps version that starts at $80 per month. The stand-alone services and TV bundles come with a one-year price guarantee, and the triple-play packages come with a two-year price guarantee, according to AT&T, which estimates that it has invested $475 million in wireless and wired networks in San Jose between 2012 and 2014.

The launch in Cupertino followed the recent debut of AT&T GigaPower in pockets of Kansas City, where AT&T is offering a stand-alone version of the 1-Gig service for $70 per month, a price that matches up with Google Fiber’s standalone gigabit plan.

AT&T has also launched GigaPower  in Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth, Texas; and Raleigh-Durham and Winston-Salem, N.C. AT&T has announced plans to deploy GigaPower in parts of 11 additional markets – Atlanta; Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C.; Chicago; Houston; Jacksonville, Fla.; Miami; Nashville, Tenn.; St. Louis and San Antonio.

AT&T has said it’s weighing GigaPower rollouts in up to 100 cities across 25 markets, and has also pledged to expand its fiber-based platform to an additional 2 million customer locations as part of its proposed acquisition of DirecTV.

"AT&T has been bringing the latest, most advanced technology to our customers for well over a century, and today we continue that tradition by launching U-verse with AT&T GigaPower – the fastest high-speed Internet available – in Cupertino,” said Ken McNeely, president of AT&T California, in a statement.  “Cupertino has fostered an environment where innovation can thrive, and we are proud that they are the first city in California to get the ultra-fast speeds on the AT&T GigaPower network. This investment will help empower the next generation of entrepreneurs and creative thinkers in Cupertino and across the Valley."

“We are proud to be the first city on the west coast to launch the AT&T GigaPower network, bringing the speed of fiber to homes and businesses” added Cupertino Mayor Rod Sinks. 

Taking aim at some markets served by MSOs such as Cox Communications, Comcast and Time Warner Cable, AT&T U-verse said it has expanded its 75 Mbps (downstream) offering to six more markets: Baton Rouge and New Orleans, La.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Mobile, Ala.; and South Bend, Ind.

Those launches, which also cover nearby areas served by U-verse in Florida and Mississippi, follow an expansion of the 75-Meg offering last month to cities such as Augusta, Ga.; Cleveland, Ohio; Miami, Fla.; and St. Louis, Mo.

Update: The latest launches close out the markets where AT&T has previously announced plans to deliver service. Last year, the telco said it would expand availably across the 21 states where U-verse is available by sometime in 2015. AT&T competes with Cox in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Comcast in Grand Rapids, Mobile and South Bend, and with TWC in Milwaukee.  

Bob Bickerstaff, vice president of voice and data products for AT&T, blogged about the latest batch of launches today (March 9), noting that the 75 Mbps service, offered in “select areas” within those markets, starts at $39.95 when bundled with other U-verse services. The 75-meg tier, which is paired with an 8 Mbps upstream, has been selling for $74.95 per month as a stand-alone service in other markets.

Coincidentally, AT&T is expanding the reach of its faster U-verse tier after the FCC voted to raise the definition of high-speed broadband from 4 Mbps down/1 Mbps up, to 25 Mbps down/3 Mbps up.

AT&T introduced the 75-meg option in December 2014 in select areas of Monterey and Sacramento, Calif.; Toledo, Ohio; and El Paso, Texas, noting then that the speed upgrades are being enabled by a new 17 MHz signal, twice the original 8.5 MHz that was used. 

Other U-verse tiers deliver downstream speeds of 6 Mbps, 12 Mbps, 18 Mbps, 24 Mbps, and 45 Mbps. AT&T also offers 100 Mbps and 1-Gig options in areas where it has begun to roll out its fiber-based GigaPower platform.

AT&T ended 2014 with 12.2 million U-verse broadband customers. 

Grande Communications will be first out of the chute with a 1-Gig residential broadband service in San Antonio, announcing that it will launch the service in select areas of the city on March 3 for $64.99 per month.

Grande, which announced the launch date on the same day the FCC voted in rules that will reclassify broadband under Title II, is launching 1-Gig ahead of AT&T, which has added San Antonio to the list of cities that will get GigaPower, the telco’s fiber-based, Gigabit platform, but has not yet launched it in that market. Google Fiber, which has been selling a standalone 1-Gig service for $70 per month, is still considering expanding into San Antonio, but did not include the city on its recently announced list of expansion markets.

Time Warner Cable, San Antonio’s incumbent MSO, recently kicked off “TWC Maxx” upgrades there that will bump its Ultimate tier from 50 Mbps (downstream) to 300 Mbps while also boosting other broadband tiers at no additional cost.

Grande said it will initially offer its 1 Gbps service, called Power 1000, to two parts of San Antonio – Alamo Heights and Terrell Hills.

Also on March 3, Grande is launching a set of faster broadband plans in all its markets -- 200 Mbps ($44.99), 300 Mbps ($54.99) and 400 Mbps, which will sell for $64.99 per month in areas where the ISP has not yet introduced 1-Gig service.  Grande launched Power 1000 in parts of Austin, Texas, about a year ago. 

Other Grande plans offer speeds of 15 Mbps ($29.99) and 50 Mbps ($34.99).

Grande's broadband tiers can also be bundled with its TV and phone services.

“Grande’s deployment of 1G service in San Antonio along with the new Internet speeds are part of our customer care commitment and continuing effort to offer the fastest Internet speeds and loaded bundles at the best value,” said Matt Rohre, senior vice president of operations and general manager for Grande, in  a statement. 

Taking aim at Google Fiber and incumbent MSOs such as Time Warner Cable and Comcast, AT&T announced Monday that it has launched its fiber-fed U-verse with "GigaPower" platform to pockets of the Kansas City area.

Offering a mix of stand-alone 1-Gig broadband alongside TV and voice bundles, AT&T said it is launching GigaPower in portions of Leawood, Lenexa, Olathe, and Overland Park, Kan., and “in surrounding communities located throughout the metro area.” AT&T said it plans to expand GigaPower to Independence, Mo., and Shawnee, Kan.

Here’s how AT&T will price and package GigaPower in the Kansas City area early on: 

-A standalone 1-Gig broadband service for $70 per month along with an waiver of equipment, installation and activiation fees, and a three-year price guarantee. Customers who take the “Premier” GigaPower offer also agree to participate in AT&T Internet Preferences, the telco’s targeted Web advertising program.

-A 1-Gig/TV bundle that starts at $120 per month, that includes free HBO and access to the programmer’s TV Everywhere service, HBO GO, for 36 months.

-A triple-play package (1-Gig, TV and voice) starting at $150 per month.

Save for the GigaPower triple-play package, the others offered in the K.C. area by AT&T practically mirror Google Fiber’s there   -- $70 per month for stand-alone 1-Gig broadband, and a 1-Gig/TV package that starts at $120 per month. Google Fiber also offers a free Internet service that delivers 5 Mbps down by 1 Mbps upstream.

Time Warner Cable, meanwhile, kicked off its “TWC Maxx” upgrades in Kansas City in January, paving the way for an enhanced DVR packing six tuners and 1 terabyte of storage, and a new 300 Mbps (downstream) DOCSIS 3.0 service that replaces its former 100 Mbps offering in the market.

AT&T’s pricing and packaging for GigaPower in the Kansas City area appears to be a bit sweeter than, for example, the packages it’s starting to sell in parts of North Carolina , which offer $120 per month for the 1-Gig standalone service, a double-play (1-Gig/TV) starting at $150 per month, and a triple-play that starts at $180 per month. AT&T’s 1-Gig broadband service has historically been capped at 1 terabyte per month, after which customers are charged $10 for each additional 50 gigabytes consumed. Google Fiber currently offers an uncapped broadband service.

Update: An AT&T spokesperson confirmed that the same data usage policy will apply for the GigaPower deployment in the Kansas City area.

John Sondag, president of AT&T Missouri, said the initial launch into the Kansas City market comes after the telco had spent more than a year putting in fiber and electronics it needs to offer the service, while also determining which portions of the market had the most demand for the GigaPower service.

While AT&T isn’t being specific about which neighborhoods in the markets already identified for GigaPower will have access to the fiber-based service early on, Sondag said Monday's launch is “just the start,” as the telco will expand and roll it out to other areas in the market.

“We are going to invest where customers are demanding these services,” he said, estimating that AT&T has invested $825 million in Kansas City over the past four years. “We’re willing to make the necessary investments to get these customers, and to keep them.”

With Kansas City coming online, AT&T currently estimates that it has GigaPower available to “hundreds of thousands consumers and small businesses” in markets that also include Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth, Texas; and Raleigh-Durham and Winston-Salem, N.C. AT&T has announced plans to deploy GigaPower in parts of 11 additional markets – Atlanta; Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C.; Chicago; Cupertino, Calif.; Houston; Jacksonville, Fla.; Miami; Nashville, Tenn.; St. Louis and San Antonio.

Overall, AT&T is weighing GigaPower rollouts in up to 100 cities across 25 markets, and has also pledged to expand its fiber-based platform to an additional 2 million customer locations as part of its proposed acquisition of DirecTV.

Adding some speed competition to areas served by MSOs such as Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications, AT&T U-verse has expanded its 75 Mbps (downstream) tier to seven more markets: Augusta, Ga.; Charleston, S.C.; Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio; Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Fla.; and St. Louis, Mo.

Bob Bickerstaff, vice president of voice and data products for AT&T, announced the new markets via this blog post on Friday (Feb. 6) (hat tip: DSL Reports), noting that the new tier, offered in “select areas” in those markets, is well-suited for homes with multiple devices and for gaming and streaming video.

That market expansion coincidently comes soon after the FCC voted to raise the definition of high-speed broadband from 4 Mbps down/1 Mbps up, to 25 Mbps down/3 Mbps up.

AT&T introduced the 75-meg option in December 2014 in select areas of Monterey and Sacramento, Calif.; Toledo, Ohio; and El Paso, Texas, noting then that the speed upgrades are being enabled by a new 17 MHz signal, twice the original 8.5 MHz that was used. The 75-meg tier, which is paired with an 8 Mbps upstream, starts at $74.95 per month as a stand-alone, as low as $39.95 per month when bundled with other AT&T services.

Other U-verse tiers deliver downstream speeds of 6 Mbps, 12 Mbps, 18 Mbps, 24 Mbps, and 45 Mbps. AT&T also offers 100 Mbps and 1-Gig options in areas where it has begun to roll out its fiber-based GigaPower platform.

Bickerstaff noted that AT&T plans to offer the 75-Meg service in additional U-verse markets, but didn’t reveal any expected launch dates.

AT&T ended 2014 with 12.2 million U-verse Internet customers.

Following recent upgrades, AT&T has booted up a new U-verse broadband tier that pumps out 75 Mbps downstream in “select areas” of Monterey and Sacramento, Calif.; Toledo, Ohio; and El Paso, Texas.

The introductory price for the new offering, which is paired with an 8 Mbps upstream path, starts at $74.95 per month as a stand-alone service, and as low as $39.95 per month when bundled with other AT&T services.

Next year, AT&T plans to expand availability of that faster tier in those initial markets and across the 21 states where AT&T offers high-speed Internet service today, Bob Bickerstaff, AT&T’s VP of voice & data products, noted in this blog post.

The initial wave of upgrades will hit markets served by Comcast (Monterey and Sacramento), Buckeye CableSystem (Toledo), and Time Warner Cable (El Paso).

Bickerstaff said the new 75 Mbps offering, which is enabled through upgrades delivered via a new 17 MHz signal, twice the original 8.5 MHz that was used, “isn’t just designed for techies and online gaming enthusiasts…Speeds up to 75Mbps are ideal for homes with multiple devices and for gaming and streaming video.”

The new 75-meg tier joins other U-verse options that offer downstream speeds of 6 Mbps, 12 Mbps, 18 Mbps, 24 Mbps, and 45 Mbps. AT&T also offers 100 Mbps and 1-Gig options in areas where it has begun to roll fiber-based GigaPower platform (pockets of Carrboro, Cary, Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Winston-Salem N.C.; and Austin and Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas.)

AT&T ended the third quarter with 12.1 million U-verse broadband subs, representing 73% of all AT&T wireline customers.

AT&T says it is not pulling the plug on all its fiber build-outs if the FCC reclassifies broadband access under Title II, but reiterated that it will have to pause consideration of further investments beyond its April announcement about expanding its GigaPower fiber to the home (FTTH) initiative to 25 cities and the DirecTV deal pledge.

The FCC wrote AT&T Nov, 14 asking it to explain its fiber plans, based on reports of AT&T Chairman Randall Stephenson's warning that common carrier regs would cause the company to pause its high-speed fiber buildouts.

AT&T says the premise of the letter is incorrect.

In its response to the FCC Nov. 26, AT&T said it is not limiting its FTTP deployment to 2 million homes. "To the contrary, AT&T still plans to complete the major initiative we announced in April to expand our ultra-fast GigaPower fiber network in 25 major metropolitan areas nationwide, including 21 new major metropolitan areas," as well as the 2 million additional as part of the DirecTV deal. Here is a more granular view of AT&T's GigaPower market commitments. 

At a Wells Fargo conference earlier this month, talking about the threat of Title II, AT&T Chairman Randall Stephenson said: "We made some commitments in the DirecTV announcement that we will build fiber to 2 million additional homes. We will obviously commit to that and once the DirecTV deal is done, we'll keep going. But what we have also announced on top of that is that we're going to deploy fiber to 100 cities. And we can't go out and just invest that kind of money, deploying fiber to 100 cities other than these two million, not knowing under what rules that investment will be governed. And so, we have to pause, and we have to just put a stop on those kind of investments that we're doing today."

Ah, politics. Just two days after President Obama asked the FCC to pursue Title II reclassification of broadband services, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said the telco will pause further fiber investment until after the company has a better fix on the rules it will be operating under. 

"We can't go out and invest that kind of money deploying fiber to 100 cities not knowing under what rules those investments will be governed," Stephenson said, according to this Reuters report of comments the exec made at an analyst conference. "We think it is prudent to just pause and make sure we have line of sight and understanding as to what those rules would look like.”

AT&T has already threatened to sue the FCC if the Commission takes the Title II route.

One person who is likely unsurprised by AT&T’s current posture is cable vet Michael Willner.

Speaking here Wednesday (November 12) at the NewBay Media NYC Television Week event in New York, Willner, the president and CEO of Penthera and GreatLand Connections (the MSO poised to emerge after Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Charter Communication sew up their transactions and system swaps) and the former head of Insight Communications, warned that applying Title II to broadband could cause operators to close the capex spigots and pull back on plant investments like they did following the 1992 Cable Act. “Everything came to a screeching halt,” he recalled, noting that the industry is “teetering” on a replay of 1992 Act.

For those keeping score,  AT&T announced in April that it was  exploring an expansion of its 1-Gig-capable GigaPower to as many as 100 additional cities across 25 markets. It has also proposed to expand GigaPower to an additional 2 million customers as a condition of its pending acquisition of DirecTV.

By market, here’s a look at AT&T’s announced GigaPower commitments and where it’s already been deploying it and who its primary wireline competitor is in those markets:

-Atlanta, Ga.* (Comcast, Charter Communications)

-Austin, Texas** (Time Warner Cable, Grande Communications)

-Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas** (Time Warner Cable, Grande Communications, Charter Communications)

-Cary, N.C.* (TWC)

-Charlotte, N.C.* (TWC)

-Chicago, Ill. (Comcast, RCN)

-Carrboro, N.C.* (TWC)

-Chapel Hill, N.C.* (TWC)

-Cupertino, Calif. (Comcast)

-Durham, N.C.* (TWC)

-Greensboro, N.C. (TWC)

-Houston, Texas (Comcast)

-Jacksonville, Fla. (Comcast)

-San Antonio, Texas* (TWC, Grande Communications)

-Overland Park, Kan.* (TWC)

-Miami, Fla. (Comcast)

-Nashville, Tenn.* (Comcast)

-Raleigh, N.C.* (TWC)

-St. Louis, Mo. (Charter Communications)

-Winston-Salem, N.C. (TWC)

 *Also a potential buildout site for Google Fiber

**GigaPower services launched

More than a year after striking a deal that would allow it to build its fiber-fed 1-Gig broadband and TV services into Leawood, Kan., Google Fiber has decided not to go through with it because of construction issues.

Google Fiber spread the word via email last Thursday (November 30) week to people who had pre-registered for services, according to The Kansas City Star.

“We've been working hard to figure out how to make a fiber construction project work in Leawood, but we've found that it would require a much more difficult construction effort and schedule than planned. So unfortunately, we won't be bringing Google Fiber to Leawood,” Google Fiber said in a statement that echoed the message sent to prospective customers in the city.

A statement from Leawood updating the Google Fiber situation posted on October 31 indicates that the relationship has gone sour.

Leawood noted it couldn’t comment on why “Google decided to unilaterally cancel the agreement,” citing “confidentiality clause that remains in effect for BOTH parties.”

However, the city added that it is “having a legal review performed to determine if the communication by Google violates that clause, and if so, would render it null and void and thus allow the City to issue a press release regarding the facts of the situation which has been prepared and is ready to be released, but remains sealed.”

Google Fiber and Leawood struck their original agreement in August 2013.

But with Google Fiber now out of the picture, It appears that the area’s incumbent telco, AT&T, intends to enter it by deploying its 1-Gig-capable “GigaPower” service. According to the city, the government on Monday (November 3) was to consider a Memorandum of Understanding with AT&T to bring high-speed service to Leawood that “is similar to what Google was offering to provide.”

In August, AT&T announced it would expand “GigaPower” to parts of Overland Park, Kan., adding that it would also consider building out to other nearby cities in Kansas and Missiouri, including Independence, Kansas City, Leawood, and Shawnee

AT&T was not immediately available for comment, but Leawood City Administrator Scott Lambers told Light Reading that the MOU was unanimously approved Monday night.

Update: In a statement, AT&T said "ratification of the MOU by the city council is an indication of our mutual interests in working to potentially bring the AT&T GigaPower network to Leawood."

In addition to the Kansas City area, Google Fiber offers service in Provo, Utah, and is in the process of deploying its network in Austin, Texas. Google Fiber is also exploring whether to expand to as many as 34 cities, and is expected to announce its picks before the end of 2014.

Presenting a possible hint that Comcast is gearing up to launch a residential 1 Gbps broadband service, the operator recently filed a trademark application for “True Gig.”

The application, first spotted by The Donohue Report, was filed on October 20, 2014, and covers high-speed access via traditional ISP services, wireless and wireless, and different access technologies, including HFC and fiber.

Comcast, which declined to comment on the trademark application, has yet to launch a residential 1-Gig broadband service or announce when it might introduce such a service.  

The current, fastest residential broadband service offered by Comcast is Extreme 505, a $399.95  per month, targeted fiber-to-the-premises product that today offers 505 Mbps downstream by 100 Mbps upstream. Following its debut in the Northeastern U.S. in the fall of 2012, Comcast has since extended the reach of the product to include systems in MSO's South Division and Central Division.  Extreme 505 uses Comcast’s Metro Ethernet platform, which is capable of delivering multi-gigabit speeds to business customers.

Comcast’s current high-end DOCSIS 3.0 product offers max downstream speeds of 150 Mbps (Comcast is also expected to be among the most aggressive with DOCSIS 3.1, which will help cable deliver 1-Gig capacities over HFC).

And we’ll have to see what Comcast means by “True Gig,” if and when it decides to use the phrase in its advertising. It’s possible, I suppose, that Comcast could use it to describe a service that brings 1-Gig into the home and is complemented by residential gateways outfitted with 1-Gig-capable 802.11ac WiFi. Comcast has already begun to tout a new Cisco Systems-made D3.0 gateway that comes equipped with 802.11ac.

Whatever the case, it’s another example of how ISPs and industry organizations are gravitating toward product names and slogans with “Gig” in there somewhere.

Among other examples: AT&T is deploying “GigaPower,” Cox Communications is starting to roll out its “G1GABLAST” service in Phoenix, and the entire cable industry is starting to use the “Gigasphere” brand and logo as cable operators pursue DOCSIS 3.1 and the ability to deliver 1-Gig speeds on a broad basis.

AT&T said it has added Chicago and Atlanta to the list of markets it will target with GigaPower, its fiber-based 1-Gig broadband service.

AT&T hasn’t pinpointed a launch date for GigaPower or announced the specific neighborhoods that will get access to the 1-Gig service first, but did note that it will deploy its new fiber network in parts of Decatur and Newnan, two Atlanta suburbs.

Depending on the areas that AT&T end up targeting, the resulting 1-Gig offering could amp up broadband speed competition in Chicago primarily with Comcast and RCN, and in Atlanta with Comcast and Charter Communications.

Atlanta is also one of nine additional metro markets that Google Fiber is considering for expansion.

AT&T, which recently completed 1-Gig speed speed upgrades in Austin and is planning to offer an 802.11ac-based home WiFi platform to go with it, has begun to roll out 1-Gig into two major markets, and has committed to bring its GigaPower network to several more. Here’s an updated list of deployments and deployment commitments, along with the market’s primary incumbent wireline providers:

-Atlanta, Ga.* (Comcast, Charter Communications)

-Austin, Texas** (Time Warner Cable, Grande Communications)

-Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas** (Time Warner Cable, Grande Communications, Charter Communications)

-Cary, N.C.* (TWC)

-Charlotte, N.C.* (TWC)

-Chicago, Ill. (Comcast, RCN)

-Carrboro, N.C.* (TWC)

-Chapel Hill, N.C.* (TWC)

-Cupertino, Calif. (Comcast)

-Durham, N.C.* (TWC)

-Greensboro, N.C. (TWC)

-Houston, Texas (Comcast)

-Jacksonville, Fla. (Comcast)

-San Antonio, Texas* (TWC, Grande Communications)

-Overland Park, Kan.* (TWC)

-Miami, Fla. (Comcast)

-Nashville, Tenn.* (Comcast)

-Raleigh, N.C.* (TWC)

-St. Louis, Mo. (Charter Communications)

-Winston-Salem, N.C. (TWC)

 *Also a potential buildout site for Google Fiber

**GigaPower services launched

In April, AT&T announced it was  exploring an expansion of GigaPower to as many as 100 additional cities across 25 markets. It has also proposed to expand GigaPower to an additional 2 million customers as a condition of its pending acquisition of DirecTV.

###

Cable has its “Gigasphere,” but GVTC has its “GigaRegion.”

GVTC has launched a 1 Gbps Internet service spanning 2,200 miles of fiber across a 2,000 square-mile area, branded as its “GigaRegion,” that touches parts of Far North San Antonio, the Texas Hill Country, and Gonzales, Texas, and a total of about 40,000 homes. The plan is to expand fiber to an additional 2,600 homes in “select residential neighborhoods,” in the area, the company said in an announcement made Monday (Sept. 29).

The GVTC GigaRegion is a private-public partnership between the service provider and the cities of Boerne, Bulverde and Gonzales aimed at spurring economic development in the region.

According to this GVTC Web page, the company is selling a tier that offers 1 Gbps down by 100 Mbps upstream for $299.95 per month.

A video about the project presents a techno-vision and message that would seemingly rival Disney’s for EPCOT. “GVTC GigaRegion is more than just a smart home or office," the voice over proclaims. "The GVTC GigaRegion is smart living and the platform for cities of the future. It’s not just an ideal place to live, work and play, it’s the ideal place to thrive.”

“The companies that do their homework will understand what an innovative, technological  Utopia we’ve created,” Ritchie Sorrells, GVTC’s president and CEO, adds in the GigaRegion promotional reel. “They’ll jump on board and never look back. They’ll never have to. They will have enabled their businesses to embrace the next century in fiber optic evolution.”

Although GVTC is not pitching symmetric 1-Gig, its 1-Gig download service is being offered ahead of others in the region. In July, AT&T announced that it would roll its fiber-based, 1-Gig capable “GigaPower” network to parts of San Antonio, but has not announced an anticipated launch date. Google Fiber is also eyeing the region, with San Antonio having already approved a long-term, master lease deal that clears the way for the deployment of dozens of “fiber huts.”

Time Warner Cable, the area cable incumbent that’s in the process of being acquired by Comcast, has been deploying “TWC Maxx,” the label given to an all-digital upgrade project that will enable a high-end DOCSIS 3.0 tier that offers 300 Mbps in the downstream. San Antonio is among the markets that’s on tap for the TWC Maxx treatment in 2015. 

AT&T U-verse has begun to ramp up the deployment of a fiber-based service for business customers in select markets that will start off delivering up to 300 Mbps, but will eventually be ratcheted up to 1 Gbps.

The AT&T Business Fiber offering, targeted to multi-tenant commercial buildings, comes out of the telco’s Project Velocity IP upgrade project.

Early on, the new fiber-based service is being offered to more than 16,000 businesses located in “AT&T Fiber Ready Buildings” in Austin and San Antonio, Texas; Detroit; Indianapolis; Sacramento, Calif.; and Orlando, Fla.  Other markets will be announced later this year, the telco said.

Tiers for AT&T’s fiber-fed service for business starts at 25 Mbps (downstream) for $50 per month.  AT&T is introducing the service as it faces stiffer competition from Comcast, Cox Communications and other cable operators that are targeting small- and mid-sized businesses with fiber-based Ethernet services.

The new business-focused effort also enters the fray as AT&T starts to roll out a targeted, residential fiber-based “GigaPower” service in markets such as Austin and Dallas/Ft. Worth, with several others in the works.  

Atlantic Broadband has jumped on the 1-Gig wave after launching a speedy offering to residential customers in Indian Creek Village, a well-to-do segment of the Miami-Dade area. The MSO is now “evaluating expansion opportunities.”

Pricing for the service and the number of homes that have access to the new 1-Gig offering was not immediately known, but Atlantic Broadband did say that the service is not encumbered with a data cap, and that it is offering it in tandem with a TiVo-powered video package featuring more than 350 channels and integrated access to the Netflix streaming service, and a phone service that includes unlimited local and domestic calling and up to four phone lines.

Update: About 40 properties in the Indian Creek Village area have access to the new 1-Gig offering, an Atlantic Broadband spokeswoman said via email. “As for pricing, the needs of Indian Creek Village were unique so custom service packages were created that include all of Atlantic Broadband’s TV services, Gigabit Internet and four phone lines. Currently, there is not a published a standalone price for Gigabit Internet,” she added.

The company noted that it is using the RF over Glass (RFoG) technology for its network extensions, referring to an SCTE-standardized platform that allows cable operators to continue delivering RF-based services (including video) over fiber lines, while also retaining their legacy headend, backend systems, in-home wiring, and CPE (set-tops and modems).

“Moving forward, Atlantic Broadband expects to use both FTTH and DOCSIS platforms as appropriate to the circumstances,” the official added.

The Miami area is poised to become a high-speed hot bed. Last month, AT&T announced that it planned to bring its fiber-based “GigaPower” platform to the city, but did not say when it expects to introduce services in the area, which also served by Comcast. AT&T is also considering GigaPower deployments in several areas in the Miami area, including Hialeah, Hollywood, Homestead, Opa-Locka, and Pompano Beach.

Atlantic Broadband boasted that it beat others to the 1-Gig punch in the Miami area.

“Atlantic Broadband is proud to be the first company to deliver 1 Gigabit Internet service to its customers here in the Miami Beach area,” said David Keefe, Atlantic Broadband’s  SVP and GM of South Florida, in a statement. “While other companies are talking about what they will be doing, Atlantic Broadband moved forward and started offering this service in one of its communities. We look forward to extending access to our Gigabit Internet service to other properties and communities within our Miami footprint.”

Atlantic Broadband, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada-based Cogeco Cable, serves more than 230,000 residential and business subs in western Pennsylvania, Miami Beach, Maryland/Delaware, and Aiken, S.C.

AT&T said Wednesday that it will bring its fiber-based, 1-Gbps-capable “GigaPower” platform to parts of Cupertino, Calif., where the telco tangles with Comcast, the area’s incumbent cable operator.

Cupertino, the tech-savvy area that is also the corporate home of Apple, is the first California city to be named as a target for GigaPower, which is already deployed in parts of Dallas/Ft. Worth and Austin, Texas.

As has been the case with other markets that will get GigaPower, specific locations of availability and pricing for services in Cupertino will be announced at a later date, AT&T said.

In eligible areas in Dallas/Fort Worth, AT&T is selling standalone 1-Gig service to residential subs starting at $120 per month. In Austin, AT&T is selling the 1-Gig standalone for $70 per month under a “Premier” plan that requires customers to participate in a targeted ad program, or $99 per month for a “Standard” tier that doesn’t include the advertising component.

Comcast’s current, fastest DOCSIS 3.0-based residential broadband tier supports downstream bursts up to 150 Mbps and upstream speeds up to 20 Mbps. The MSO has also been selling a fiber-based 505 Mbps down/100 Mbps up service in select markets, including Chicago, Atlanta, Nashville, Jacksonville, and south Florida, as well as in its Northeast division, but has yet to launch that offering in its California properties.

Here’s an updated list of markets, alongside the area’s incumbent wireline provider, where AT&T has launched or committed to deploy its GigaPower platform.

-Austin** (Time Warner Cable, Grande Communications)

-Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas** (Time Warner Cable, Grande Communications, Charter Communications)

-Cary, N.C.* (TWC)

-Charlotte, N.C.* (TWC)

-Carrboro, N.C.* (TWC)

-Chapel Hill, N.C.* (TWC)

-Durham, N.C.* (TWC)

-Greensboro, N.C. (TWC)

-Houston, Texas (Comcast)

-San Antonio, Texas* (TWC, Grande Communications)

-Overland Park, Kan.* (TWC)

-Miami, Fla. (Comcast)

-Nashville, Tenn.* (Comcast)

-Raleigh, N.C.* (TWC)

-Winston-Salem, N.C. (TWC)

*Also a potential buildout site for Google Fiber

**GigaPower services launched

In April, AT&T announced it was  exploring an expansion of GigaPower to as many as 100 additional cities across 25 markets. It has also proposed to expand GigaPower to an additional 2 million customers as a condition of its pending acquisition of DirecTV.

Following its launch of ‘GigaPower’ in Austin late last year, AT&T has begun to offer services on its fiber-based, 1-Gig-capable network to parts of Dallas and Fort Worth, where the telco competes with Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications and Grande Communications.

AT&T said it is initially offering speeds up to 1 Gbps to residents and small businesses in parts of Highland Park and University Park.

The telco added that it has also begun to offer speeds up to 100 Mbps via its U-verse platform in portions of Dallas and Fort Worth and several surrounding cities, including Allen, Arlington, Euless, Fairview, Granbury, Irving, McKinney, North Richland Hills, Weatherford and Willow Park. Customers in those areas will be able to upgrade to 1-Gig by the end of 2014, AT&T said.

In eligible areas in Dallas/Fort Worth, AT&T is selling 1-Gig service to residential subs starting at $120 per month, and 100 Mbps starting at $90 per month.  When bundled with the U200 U-verse TV package, the service fetches $150 per month when paired with 1-Gig broadband, and $120 per month when matched with the 100 Mbps tier. AT&T is also offering a $100 credit in front of customers who combine their U-verse, GigaPower and AT&T Wireless accounts.

In Austin, AT&T is selling the 1-Gig standalone service for $70 per month under a “Premier” plan that requires customers to participate in a targeted ad program, or $99 per month for a “Standard” tier that doesn’t include the advertising piece.

On the competitive front, Time Warner Cable has already introduced a 300 Mbps (downstream) service in Austin, and is planning to do the same in Dallas as the MSO continues the rollout of “TWC Maxx” all-digital upgrades to several additional markets.

AT&T has announced plans to expand GigaPower to several more markets. Here’s an updated list of all of them and the incumbent wireline providers in each:

-Austin (Time Warner Cable, Grande Communications)

-Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (Time Warner Cable, Grande Communications, Charter Communications)

-Cary, N.C.* (TWC)

-Charlotte, N.C.* (TWC)

-Carrboro, N.C.* (TWC)

-Chapel Hill, N.C.* (TWC)

-Durham, N.C.* (TWC)

-Greensboro, N.C. (TWC)

-Houston, Texas (Comcast)

-San Antonio, Texas* (TWC, Grande Communications)

-Overland Park, Kan.* (TWC)

-Miami, Fla. (Comcast)

-Nashville, Tenn.* (Comcast)

-Raleigh, N.C.* (TWC)

-Winston-Salem, N.C. (TWC)

*Also a potential buildout site for Google Fiber

In April, AT&T announced it was  exploring an expansion of GigaPower to as many as 100 additional cities across 25 markets. It has also proposed to expand GigaPower to an additional 2 million customers as a condition of its pending acquisition of DirecTV. - See more at: http://multichannel.com/news/technology/att-bring-gigapower-miami/383121...

AT&T's flurry of GigaPower announcements continued Tuesday with word that it will bring its fiber-based, 1-Gig-capable network to parts of Miami, where Comcast is the incumbent cable operator.

Per its recent string of GigaPower market announcements, AT&T said it will announce pricing and specific target areas at a later date. In addition to the city of Miami, AT&T is also considering GigaPower deployments in several nearby areas, including Hialeah, Hollywood, Homestead, Opa-Locka, and Pompano Beach.

If AT&T follows the blueprint established in Austin, Texas, where it is upgrading speeds from 300 Mbps to 1 Gbps for GigaPower, consumers can expect to pay $70 per month for a “Premier” plan that waives equipment, installation and activation fees, but requires customers to participate in a targeted advertising program called AT&T Internet Preferences, or $99 per month for a “Standard” tier that doesn’t include the targeted ad component.

AT&T launched GigaPower service to parts of Austin late last year and is nearing launches in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Here’s an updated list of other markets where AT&T has committed to deploy its GigaPower network, as well as the incumbent cable operators for each area:

-Austin (Time Warner Cable, Grande Communications)

-Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (Time Warner Cable, Grande Communications, Charter Communications)

-Cary, N.C.* (TWC)

-Charlotte, N.C.* (TWC)

-Carrboro, N.C.* (TWC)

-Chapel Hill, N.C.* (TWC)

-Durham, N.C.* (TWC)

-Greensboro, N.C. (TWC)

-Houston, Texas (Comcast)

-San Antonio, Texas* (TWC, Grande Communications)

-Overland Park, Kan.* (TWC)

-Nashville, Tenn.* (Comcast)

-Raleigh, N.C.* (TWC)

-Winston-Salem, N.C. (TWC)

*Also a potential buildout site for Google Fiber

In April, AT&T announced it was  exploring an expansion of GigaPower to as many as 100 additional cities across 25 markets. It has also proposed to expand GigaPower to an additional 2 million customers as a condition of its pending acquisition of DirecTV.

AT&T said it has cranked up the speed for its fiber-based “GigaPower” deployment in Austin as it now offers symmetrical speeds of 1 Gbps to parts of the city. The upgrade follows the recent launch of 1-Gig services from Grande Communications and the start of Google Fiber's buildout in the speed-crazy market.

AT&T began to light up GigaPower in Austin late last year, starting off with up and down speeds of 300 Mbps, with original plans to ramp it up to 1-Gig by mid-2014. Time Warner Cable, which is in the process of being acquired by Comcast, has begun to upgrade that will enable it to deliver 300 Mbps (downstream) across the Austin market.

AT&T said “tens of thousands” of Internet users are on GigaPower in Austin, noting that customers will be upgraded to 1-Gig at no additional cost in the coming weeks. Upgrades will occur automatically, the telco said.

Alongside the speed upgrade, AT&T also announced a promo in Austin through November 8 that centers on its wireless service. Austin-area residents who add a new AT&T wireless plan to a new or existing U-verse with GigaPower account or who add GigaPower to an existing AT&T wireless account are in line for a one-time $100 credit on their monthly wireless bill.

In Austin, AT&T is selling GigaPower for $70 per month under a “Premier” plan that waives equipment, installation and activation fees, but requires customers to participate in AT&T Internet Preferences, its targeted Web advertising program. Subs who bundle in U-verse TV will pay $120 per month for a package that includes HBO for 36 months and HD service. AT&T’s “Standard” tier for GigaPower (without the targeted ad piece) goes for $99 per month.

AT&T has committed to deploy GigaPower to parts of several markets in the coming months, with services expected to reach pockets of Dallas/Fort Worth later this summer. AT&T has not announced pricing for its other GigaPower markets, nor said if it intends to follow the Austin blueprint and offer 300 Mbps temporarily before ramping up to 1-Gig.

In addition to Austin, here’s a list of markets currently in-line for GigaPower, alongside the incumbent cable operator in each area:

-Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications)

-Cary, N.C.* (TWC)

-Charlotte, N.C.* (TWC)

-Carrboro, N.C.* (TWC)

-Chapel Hill, N.C.* (TWC)

-Durham, N.C.* (TWC)

-Greensboro, N.C. (TWC)

-Houston, Texas (Comcast)

-San Antonio, Texas* (TWC)

-Overland Park, Kan.* (TWC)

-Nashville, Tenn.* (Comcast)

-Raleigh, N.C.* (TWC)

-Winston-Salem, N.C. (TWC)

*Also a potential buildout site for Google Fiber

In April, AT&T announced it was  exploring an expansion of GigaPower to as many as 100 additional cities across 25 markets. It has also proposed to expand GigaPower to an additional 2 million customers as a condition of its pending acquisition of DirecTV.