AT&T to battle Comcast, Google Fiber with 1-Gig service in Atlanta

AT&T (NYSE: T) is taking on Google Fiber (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Comcast's new 2-Gig offering with the launch of its fiber-based 1-Gig GigaPower service in parts of Atlanta. AT&T said it will offer GigaPower and a new Wi-Fi residential gateway to areas of Atlanta, Decatur, Sandy Springs and Newnan starting at $120 per month.

AT&T's GigaPower launch is notable as the company is going head-to-head with Google, which said it will deliver 1-Gig service to nine Georgia cities including Atlanta, Decatur and Sandy Springs. Google, however, has not said when its Atlanta service will launch.

Meanwhile, Comcast earlier this year said it will offer 2-Gig GigaBit pro service to businesses in Atlanta. The company has not said what it will charge for the service but it expects to make it available to 1.5 million customers initially and ultimately extend the service to a total of 18 million homes by the end of 2015. To make 2-Gig service a reality, Comcast plans to use a mix of its existing HFC cable via DOCSIS 3.1 technology and fiber.

Anecdotally, it appears that Google Fiber's presence in markets where AT&T launches its GigaPower service has an impact on how the carrier prices its service. For example, in Winston-Salem and Raleigh-Durham, N.C., AT&T reduced the price of service from $120 a month to $70 last month.

AT&T's 1-Gig service also imposes a 1,000 gigabyte usage limit. Google Fiber does not implement usage caps on its FTTP offerings and Comcast has also said it won't impose any usage caps on its Gigabit Pro service.

For more:
- see this Multichannel News report
- see this Atlanta Journal Constitution article

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