AT&T Unveils the Fastest Broadband Internet for Home Customers

(Bloomberg) -- AT&T Inc. is rolling out the fastest consumer broadband offered by major internet providers in an aggressive move aimed at cable providers.

Starting Monday, as many as 5.2 million potential customers in parts of most major cities, including Los Angeles, Atlanta and Dallas, can sign on to AT&T’s fiber-connected home broadband services for internet speeds of 2 gigabits per second for $110 a month. An even faster plan with up to 5 gigabits per second will cost $180 a month, according to a company statement Monday. Both plans include HBO Max.

Using blazing speeds as a competitive edge, AT&T is delivering on its vow to make to fiber and 5G wireless broadband services the core focus of the company. Last year, AT&T abandoned a $100 billion TV and media-businesses strategy crafted by previous management. With the spinoff of DirecTV and the pending separation of its WarnerMedia business, Chief Executive Officer John Stankey plans to return the phone giant to its roots as a network operator.

AT&T’s previous plans topped out at 1 gigabit for $80 a month. Comcast Corp.’s Xfinity charges $79 for its 1.2-gigabit plan. Charter Communications Inc.’s Spectrum-branded broadband service is priced at almost $110 with 1 gigabit speeds for New York City locations, and Google Fiber costs $100 for 2 gigabits.

AT&T’s new amped-up fiber plan didn’t include any mention of its 5G wireless service. In the past year, the Dallas-based company has spent $36 billion on new 5G midband airwaves in a three-way race with Verizon Communications Inc. and T-Mobile US Inc. to build faster wireless networks. AT&T has said that wireless home broadband services may not have the capacity to keep up with projected data consumption rates in the coming years.

Last week, AT&T and Verizon launched so-called C-band 5G service under a six-month agreement to keep signals away from airports while the aviation industry works through air safety concerns. 

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