AT&T (NYSE: T) has announced the expansion of its fiber-based "GigaPower" 1-gig broadband service in Los Angeles, infiltrating a region dominated by Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC).
AT&T first announced the arrival of the service to L.A. in December. In its latest announcement, the company said GigaPower is now available to "tens of thousands of locations" in the Southern California region, including single-family homes, apartments and small business in parts of Eastvale, Irvine, Los Angeles and Orange County.
The company said it plans to triple the availability of the 1-gig product by the end of 2016, extending it to Glendale and Arcadia.
The introduction of GigaPower — which runs $110 a month for the full 1-gig download speed — should be a welcome addition to Los Angeles residents who currently have little choice for broadband service.
In FierceCable's Los Angeles, er, bureau, which is located one mile west of Downtown, consumers can choose between DOCSIS 3.0-powered 300 Mbps service offered by TWC, or 6 Mbps DSL service delivered by AT&T (NYSE: T).
"Demand for AT&T GigaPower and sales have exceeded expectations since arriving in the Los Angeles area at the end of last year," said Eric Boyer, senior VP of AT&T wireless and wired product marketing. "The faster speeds offered through AT&T GigaPower keep people and small businesses connected as they are accessing more content on more devices. This improves a customer's experience when they are connecting to the cloud, hosting a videoconference, streaming videos and music, playing online games and more."
"High-speed Internet has become as essential of a utility as water, power and gas, for education, economic development, entertainment and day to day life in Los Angeles," added Councilmember Bob Blumenfield. Blumenfield who has been a leader in the City's efforts to expand Internet service. "I'm very happy to see this expanded ATT service to help support job growth in small business and provide fast connections for families and students at home."
For more:
- read this AT&T press release
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UPDATED: This article was corrected. TWC does not require a contract on its 300 Mbps broadband service.