AT&T and BlackRock are set to collaborate to bring Fiber internet to more users in the US. The AT&T Company further said that it aims to expand the number of places that its fiber network reaches beyond its present 21-state network.
AT&T and BlackRock Set To Collaborate To Bring Fiber Internet to More Users in the US
Both AT&T and investment firm BlackRock have entered a new partnership that will see them extend fiber internet service way beyond its present wireline networks, the telecom company on Friday said in a press release. The terms of the deal however were not disclosed.
The joint venture which is dubbed Gigapower will help service customers that are outside of AT&T’s 21-state wireline network that covers the southern and Midwestern US primarily, as well as Texas, Florida, and California. The multi-gig fiber network will also deploy to an initial 1.5 million customers. AT&T reveals that it is committed to serve 30 million locations with fiber by the end of the year 2025. The press release however did not reveal as to what states or communities that the power of gigapower would be expanding to.
BlackRock’s Statement in Regards to the Collaboration
“We believe Gigapower’s fiber infrastructure designed as a commercial open access platform will more efficiently connect communities across the United States with critical broadband services,” mark Florian, global head of diversified infrastructure at BlackRock said in a statement.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
The formation of Gigapower comes as fiber internet continues to expand across the United States. And just last year, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law, which as you should know included $65 billion for broadband, a move that was praised by industry trade groups such as the Fiber Broadband Association.
It was also a very necessary step in crossing the broadband divide, which has left many Americans in more rural areas without access to high-speed internet. And this includes ISPs historically redlining low-income neighborhoods, high costs, and a dismissal of tribal lands.
AT&T Fiber and How It Benefits Users
AT&T Fiber, which can help to deliver speeds as high as 5 gigabits per second, is starting to become an important line of revenue for the telecom company. In the early parts of this year, AT&T said that it had 6.6 million fiber subscribers with consumer wireline revenue of $3.2 billion in Q2 2022. AT&T Fiber’s 1Gbps service costs users $80 per month, but there are lower speed options for less in the event that the other options are too pricey for you.
