AT&T extends 45 Mbps U-verse option to 40 additional markets

AT&T (NYSE: T) is bringing its 45/6 Mbps bandwidth U-verse Power Internet service option to an additional 40 markets across 15 states.

The service is now available in a number of states in the East, Midwest and South. In July, it debuted the 45/6 Mbps option in California and Nevada.

Eligible residential customers will be able to get the 45 Mbps service for $49.95 if they purchase the service as part of a bundle of TV and voice services and sign a two-year contract. Existing U-verse customers have the option to upgrade their package and receive $10 off their bill for a year.  

AT&T is also making the 45 Mbps option available to small businesses starting at $30.00 a month. The option can be bundled with U-verse TV packages that include promotional pricing through December 2013.  

The new 45/6 service is made possible through the company's Project Velocity IP (VIP) initiative, which is focused on expanding and enhancing its wireline and wireless IP-based broadband networks. While 45 Mbps is the near-term speed upgrade, AT&T said it will offer a 75 and 100 Mbps option at a later date.

Complementing its Project VIP initiative, AT&T last week said it would accept $100 million in the second round of Connected America Funds (CAF) Phase 1 after the FCC changed the rules on how the funds could be spent to expand broadband in rural areas.

U-verse continues to be a cash cow in the telco's wireline segment. During the second quarter, AT&T added 233,000 U-verse TV and 641,000 broadband U-verse customers, bringing the company to a total of 5 million U-verse TV and 9.1 million broadband customers.

For more:
- see the release

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