AT&T Has Fooled The Press And Public Into Believing It's Building A Massive Fiber Network That Barely Exists
from the fiber-to-the-press-release dept
A few years ago, AT&T realized something amazing: you don't have to build a cutting edge, fiber to the home broadband network, when it's relatively easy to fool the press and public into believing you're building a cutting edge, fiber to the home network. So as AT&T was actually busy reducing its fixed-line broadband spending and quietly walking away from DSL users it didn't want to upgrade, it launched a service it calls "U-Verse with Gigapower." Basically, AT&T's delivering gigabit speeds to high-end housing developments, then pretending the upgrades are much, much larger than they actually are.Case in point: AT&T this week breathlessly announced that the company was deploying gigabit fiber to 38 more markets, bringing the grand total of its gigabit fiber deployment to an amazing 56 total metro markets:
"AT&T announced today it is planning to expand the availability of ultra-fast speeds through AT&T GigaPower to homes, apartments and small businesses in parts of 38 additional metros across the United States – which will total at least 56 metros served. With the launch of our ultra-fast Internet service in parts of 2 of these metros today – Los Angeles and West Palm Beach – AT&T GigaPower is now available in 20 of the nation’s largest metros.Note a few things about the announcement, however. Nowhere does the company state when these connections will be delivered. Similarly nowhere does the company make clear that it's targeting mostly high-end housing developments where fiber is already in the ground, making costs negligible (the only way you could technically accomplish a deployment of this kind and magically have your CAPEX consistently drop). And while AT&T claims these improvements will reach 14 million residential and commercial locations, AT&T gives no timeline for this accomplishment. That means it could cherry pick a few hundred thousand University condos and housing developments per year and be wrapping up this not-so-epic fiber deployment by 2040 or so.
Nowhere -- now or ever -- will you see AT&T specify precisely how many users have, or will be able to get gigabit speeds from AT&T. That's because, in reality, users in these "launched" markets will almost always find it difficult if not impossible to sign up for this gigabit service. And, in some cases, by a "launched" market AT&T actually means a few dozen homes sitting on a hill in a single housing development.
Now take a minute and look at the press coverage of AT&T's announcement, and try to find one news outlet that could be bothered to note the limited nature of these launches. Whether it's the Shreveport Times or the pages of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, AT&T's convinced the entire country that it's on the cusp of getting gigabit fiber that -- for the vast majority of them -- is never going to actually arrive. Even technology news outlets that should know better (if they'd spent five minutes studying AT&T's history on this front) are busy bandying about quotes how AT&T is "outpacing every other competitor."
To be clear, some AT&T customers will certainly get fiber. If you live in one of the few areas where AT&T has to actually compete thanks to Google Fiber, or in locations where it's possible to upgrade to fiber with the least amount of effort and cost possible, you may be upgraded -- eventually. Granted it won't be cheap, and you'll have to pay a steep premium if you don't want AT&T to spy on you, but you'll get fiber. More likely than not, however, you live in a DSL or U-Verse (FTTN) market that AT&T not only won't upgrade, but may be walking completely away from in order to focus on more profitable (read: usage capped) wireless.
The press and public aren't the only ones being conned. AT&T has consistently used its phantom fiber deployment as a carrot on a stick with regulators, at one point threatening to stop making these barely-there investments unless regulators walked back net neutrality. AT&T backed off the claim when the FCC asked for hard data, but this kind of telecom theater works exceptionally well in state legislatures. Last week AT&T claimed net neutrality prevented them from innovating, and this week they're portraying themselves as the innovator of the century (even though the only actual innovation here is in misleading PR).
And AT&T's not alone when it comes to bogus gigabit bravado. Most of the major phone and cable companies have similarly responded to Google Fiber by cherry picking the nation's most affluent housing developments for gigabit deployment, then pretending they're keeping pace with the nation's broadband needs. Even Google Fiber has made a habit lately of getting oodles of press attention for fiber deployments that may or may not actually happen. In reality however, two thirds of homes lack the choice of more than one ISP at speeds of 25 Mbps or greater. And as AT&T and Verizon walk away from unwanted DSL markets, cable's monopoly power is going to grow, making broadband less competitive than ever in many markets.
None of this is to pooh pooh the actual gigabit fiber deployments that are occurring. While it only has an estimated 100,000 subscribers now, there's every indication Google Fiber's going to eventually have a major disruptive impact. There's a lot of interesting stuff going on at the grass roots level, whether it's municipal broadband, or companies like Tucows taking the reins and upgrading small towns, one at a time. But on the meta scale, an uncritical press is contributing to an epic case of delusion when it comes to the pace of broadband progress.
That's why we're not living in the age of fiber to the home -- so much as we're living in the age of fiber to the press release.
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Filed Under: competition, fiber, fiber to the press release, gigapower, journalism, net neutrality
Companies: at&t
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Gigabit to the press release!
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ATT's Potemkin Network ?
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Re: ATT's Potemkin Network ?
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Re:
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Spell Check Is Your Friend
rān/Submit
verb
1.
hold royal office; rule as king or queen.
"Queen Elizabeth reigns over the UK"
synonyms: be king/queen, be monarch, be sovereign, sit on the throne, wear the crown, rule More
be the best or most important in a particular area or domain.
"in America, baseball reigns supreme"
(of a quality or condition) prevail; predominate.
"confusion reigned"
synonyms: prevail, exist, be present, be the case, occur, be prevalent, be current, be rife, be rampant, be the order of the day, be in force, be in effect; More
(of a sports player or team) currently hold a particular title.
synonyms: incumbent, current
"the reigning world champion"
noun
noun: reign; plural noun: reigns
1. the period during which a sovereign rules.
"the original chapel was built in the reign of Charles I"
synonyms: rule, sovereignty, monarchy
"during Henry's reign"
rein
rān/Submit
noun
plural noun: reins
1. a long, narrow strap attached at one end to a horse's bit, typically used in pairs to guide or check a horse while riding or driving.
verb
3rd person present: reins
1. check or guide (a horse) by pulling on its reins.
"he reined in his horse and waited for her"
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Re: Spell Check Is Your Friend
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Re:
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"Investigative reporting, what's that? That sounds a lot harder than just printing the press releases companies hand us."
Most companies have to pay for advertising, the cable companies just lie to the news agencies and let them handle it from there.
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Its True
Few years ago I got tw telecom (not to be confused with TW Cable) to run fiber into our building. Since then level3 has purchased tw telecom.
Shortly afer tw telecom brings in fiber, AT&T and TW Cable business class decide to also bring in fiber since they started loosing customers to tw telecom.
So yes its true that are building a fiber network but its only avaliable where they have been forced to compete.
Now I have the luxury of AT&T sales drones stopping by wanting to sell me their fiber every few months but I am quite happy with level3 and AT&T is no cheaper anyway.
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Fiber randomly came to our neighborhood
1 -- We're a 30-year-old neighborhood of ~150 single family homes, mostly full of old people. Odd choice for fiber.
2 -- Google and Comcast are both expanding fiber in Atlanta, so perhaps it was a land rush?
3 -- $0 installation fee.
4 -- With the max of everything (fiber, five TVs with every channel, plus home phone) it is about half the cost of Comcast.
I now have 10x the speed and many more TV channels for 50% of the cost. No idea what they're doing nationwide, but it's pretty sweet here.
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Wonder if ATT did the same as my area?
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Re: Wonder if ATT did the same as my area?
I was surprised and pleased to not be charged an installation fee.
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Re: Fiber randomly came to our neighborhood
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can confirm
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Re:
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Has anyone compared ATT footprint with Congress Districts?
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Former ATT employee
As a Former support staff for AT&T's Gigabit and Fiber program, I can tell you that while it may not seem like they are putting fiber into your door, they still have hundreds of Technicians and Workers, laying fiber infrastructure. The issue with Broadband Internet, New VOIP, and Digital TV transmission is that the speeds and quality are determined by the back end systems (satellite networks, broadcast and relay stations). These systems for the longest time had older transport systems and cabling. Once all of the background systems are upgraded and done, and that means from every relay and receiving stations (think of that little R2D2 looking box on your street corner, and the lines on the telephone poles) they have the ability to push higher speeds. And in affected areas you may see that you used to have a max of 3 mbps, you now have the ability to go to 12-16 mbps (which is around the maximum that the copper can sustain in a single strand), and once fiber is in place the speeds will upgrade exponentially. The switch from copper to fiber is not as simple as replacing the cable, it is a complete new form of transmission type, down to the individual bits themselves. Once all of the background infrastructure is completed, then they, can, will, and have begun to put fiber to each house. While it may seem like the more "affluent neighborhoods" as you put it, are getting this service, it has to do more with new construction, it is far easier to put in the Right cabling and equipment in place than it is to replace it. It will take time and lots of money, but the process is underway, and will be fully operational in chunks as they get upgraded, or entirely new infrastructure laid in. Even when they do get fiber to your area, it requires a complete overhaul of your residential equipment on the outside of the house, and in some cases a majority of the inside wiring as well. And as a former technician I can tell you that ~75% of the service areas for AT&T have a fiber background, it is waiting for the "last mile" to get upgraded, which is a lot more cabling, time, effort and money.
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We did write about it critically
In my story I provided more context for other companies doing fiber but still haven't been able to answer those specific questions. You can check out the story here:
http://www.rgj.com/story/money/business/2015/12/05/super-fast-gigabit-internet-coming-northern- nevada/76467828/
And I'll let you know if I get an update.
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Snark
As for the rest, well... I think there are a lot of different issues at hand. Cost per house passed plus cost per house installed means that they are spending in the thousands per customer to obtain them. I doubt any company (except for cash rich Google, who's fiber business doesn't have to respect the bottom line it seems) is willing to shell out that type of money over a short period of time. It will take years, it not a decades, before everyone has a fiber into their home.
Don't forget the legal issues of needing landlord permission to install on site. It's often not as simple as pulling out copper and throwing in fiber, especially if the cables have to be buried under ground. Forget dollar cost, just consider the time and manpower required to wire up a single neighborhood with say a couple of hundred houses each with an in the ground installation requirement. Many cooper phone wires are literally just run in the ground, not easy to dig up and replace.
What you are way more likely to see in the short to medium term is more of the FTTN type situations, where fiber is run to the local node and then copper takes over. It's not really a huge issue considering over the short to medium distance, it's not that hard to get copper to move 50 meg a second or more.
I know you like to razz AT&T and other companies. But perhaps you might want to consider just how big of a job it is. After all companies like Google are cherry picking installation points, and you don't razz them much.
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Re:
In May 2000 I sent a $200 cashiers check to a 3ed tier provider, five different techs dropped the load resisters off the PacBell POT's line to the CO, but after 6 weeks the check was mailed back, no can do.
Then, when i(SIC) bought from GTE, in 2001 they pulled out of Southcentral(SIC). I called a CPUC commissioner the day after Christmas and he answered his own telephone, giving me the chance to force a Public Hearing.
GTE told 50 customer-victims 'thank-you-for-sharing' and left.
I than bought 5 phone lines from Alliance (now XO), their minimum at the time.
Aliance was still billing me for the 21 POT's, a T1 and two ISDN pairs we had used for FIVE DAYS (i had removed their cable from the stairwell by that Sunday) near the Democratic Convention. 13 months ($17,000) after, their bill went to $0. I guess phantom receivables helped on Wallstreet(SIC).
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Re: We did write about it critically
AT&T pulled 10 low-oxygen copper coax lines out of the ground that run his side of his mailbox in 2003 and put 50 fibers in the ground, but he's only allowed dial-up today.
AT&T offered our local radio station 30 telephone lines on a T-1 ("now just 1 telephone bill!") and stole 25 twisted pairs from us to resell to the neighborhood. For ten years, more than a few simultaneous incoming calls are all almost unintelligible!
Dozens of startups built out every right-of-way in America, pipe lines, rail lines, high-voltage power easements, old DOD cold-war umbilical, every downtown street for new fiber in the late 1990's, went bust and AT&T bought it all for $.01 on the dollar.
I have a bunch of failed glass sticks that would have made a kilometer of variable refractive index. We are swimming in fiber in America.
Ever play Monopoly©? Three people starve and have no place to live.
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Re: Former ATT employee
> And as a former technician I can tell you that ~75% of the service areas for AT&T have a fiber background, it is waiting for the "last mile" to get upgraded, which is a lot more cabling, time, effort and money.
I really don't think you know what you are talking about. High speed internet doesn't rely on satellite networks or broadcast / relay stations. TV does, sure, but AT&T is pitching this as Gigabit internet, not even more channels. If AT&T really wanted to do this, they would actually spend money doing it, not decreasing their capital investments. You can lie to the public, but you can't lie to wall street. The reason Google is not deploying fiber faster is actually because it is really hard to find qualified people to do the install properly. And i'm not surprised, I have seen the quality of work existing telcos/cable provider installers do.
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Re: Snark
When five telephone lines had 3 demarcation points on this house and 3 divergent drops (across the sky!) from the power pole (and one jack was run outside, unattached below the ivy when PacBell (AT&T) still 'owned' every wire) i changed the demarcation points to the back garage with a new ground rod, bonded everything together during the move over, and rewired 12 jacks with modern wire and my own punch blocks Downstream of their 3 Telco boxs... & PacBell fined me $170 for touching their stuff.
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Re: Snark
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AT&T Has Fooled The Press And Public
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Re:
Yes, it is.
We should all be so lucky.
Yes, we should.
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AT&T is full of shit
two weeks ago a crew of AT&T workers were at a DSLAM down the street from my home replacing equipment or doing maintenance. They were at the site for several hours. Despite that, I don't believe AT&T is bringing all fiber to the neighborhoods they have announced. It's all "fiber to the press".
As a CWA employee told me a few months ago, "they do not want to deal with last mile wireline anymore".
As soon as the opportunity is right, AT&T (just like Verizon) is going to sell off their wireline operations to either Frontier or CenturyLink. These fiber buildouts are to be connected to their wireless towers as the backbone.
Those of you that are buying AT&T's announcements are kidding yourselves. You will never see fiber in your areas.
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Our Press Caught It
http://wfpl.org/att-looks-bring-ultra-fast-internet-louisville/
"It’s not clear as to when, exactly, the service will be available. AT&T initially launched its GigaPower network about two years ago in Austin, Texas"
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This is some evil genius
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Re: Re: Former ATT employee
AT&T U-Verse is used for both internet and video. And yes, believe it our not, many video sources really do depend on various satellites and relay stations. Amazing, isn't it?
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Re: Snark
I'm starting to suspect that Karl may not be a "team player". Maybe he needs to be put on the no-fly list for a while, eh?
/s
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Alternatively, they will be running new fiber lines on poles.
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Wonder what AT&T did to Karl
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Re: This is some evil genius
Nope, you caught on to the little trick of theirs. Ultimately it doesn't matter how fast the connection is if you get penalized, hard, for actually using it.
'Sure, sign up for our super fast connection, just know that if you use it any more than your current, slower connection it's going to cost you, a lot.'
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ATT's Network ?
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Re: Re: This is some evil genius
All utilities should be flat rate. Get rid of the meters!
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AT&T Fiber order
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Re: AT&T Fiber order
Common mistake caused by people who don't expect the cable companies to lie in whatever manner they believe will best serve their interests.
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Re: Re: Spell Check Is Your Friend
This sentence sense makes words because spelled correctly see you know I mean what.
Got it? Good.
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Isn't it obvious?
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flip the switch on existing fiber
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Hmmm, ATT Vs. Google
Point of fact, a friend paid the Google $5 enrollment to get fiber. After all the grandstanding by "the google", ATT was first into the neighborhood by six months. Google is still struggling to get the low-income neighborhoods lit and ATT is beating them to all parts of Austin. Cable has added a 300Mb option since Google announced.
It was funny to hear my friends that, like this guy, don't know dick about telecom get excited about Google Fiber when it was announced not knowing how small the initial footprint would be and how long it would take. FWIW, Google does track your internet usage.
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Gigapower Switzerland JAX
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Fiber Optics availabitily
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AT&T's Uverse Fiber Optics Service
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Re: Fiber Optics availabitily
ATT Gigapower is deploying in Birmingham,.. but they only deploy to a few thousand homes and that's their deployment. IE: Less than 1% of people will have Gigapower availability -- and that is considered "deployed". I have no idea why they don't convert their aging, 15 year old speeds to this service.. but they aren't. They are doing this at least in part to satisfy the 12.5 Million customer requirement by 2020 (iirc) served with true broadband (which is 25Mbps or greater) for buying DirecTV.
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Re: Re: Wonder if ATT did the same as my area?
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Biased much?
AT&T came in our neighborhood, one that is about 10 years old, and dug up everyones front lawn and laid fiber down, then 3 months later activated it and now i can get the gigapower 1 gig speed for $80 a month bundled with my directv.
Your article seems pretty biased, they are installing it right now as i type this. Seems all your points you were making apply 0 to my situation.
Old neighborhood, houses are 150-200k, they laid their own fiber, and it's cheaper than faster brighthouse cables top speeds.
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do not forget modem rip offs
The told me the new modem was free. When I got it they charged me a $7 monthly rental fee. Sent the modem back
and they said 'too bad, you will have that rental fee every month forever, whether you use the new modem or not'.
Of course I cancelled the service immediately.
Crooks and liars!
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They came in my area as well to install Fiber. In my area, Bright House is better on speed and Comcast is better on both speed and price. The neighbourhood is so old that none of the houses have a four line phone cable installed in the walls. It only uses two line phone cables. This limited the speed they could deliver. I think this was one of the deciding factor because the infrastructure that had made it 100% impossible to compete. Newer neighbourhoods have four line phone cables in the wall. I also told them that the cost it would take me to install a new line into my house was so high that it would only be worth the cost if it was a fiber connection.
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Better Late than Never
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Re: Its True
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I have it
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i have it too
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Yes, is very awesome!
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Misleading
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Re: do not forget modem rip offs
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Re: AT&T's Uverse Fiber Optics Service
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Re: Misleading
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Fiber Optic to a point (if at all)
The salesman that came to the house to provide my landlord with sketchy details of the "new fiber optic lines" that they just got finished installing in our area was less than pleased with my line of questioning. After he discounted the reliability and consistencies in the speed of cable, I asked him how they would be connecting their fiber optic line to the house. He proceeded to skirt around a solid answer till I asked him, point blank, if they were going to piggy back off the cable lines that were already connected to the house. His answer, though not direct as the question I asked, was “yes”.
Long story short… If they connect the fictitious fiber optic line to the existing cable, then the legendary speed they boast about is going to run into that imaginary wall they tell you about which is slowing down the mythical speeds you could be reaching if you switch over to their system. Broadband providers use to guarantee speeds for Up/Down....they don't anymore, they just give you a range (much like the range they give you when they set your appointment for the install or any service they have to provide for your issues. A window, is it?)
Their system is no better than what you already have. If it is higher internet speeds you want, stick with what you have and pay the additional monthly charge for a faster speed and don’t go through the headache of arguing with tech support that will constantly blame your issues on faulty or legacy equipment that the tech had on his truck when he/she installed your system.
When I buy my home, I will be going back to Cox Communications. AT&T isn’t worth my time.
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Not vaporware
However, a few months ago, we got a flyer in the mail indicating fiber was available. I was still skeptical, but called, and it was indeed available at our house. I put in an order, and a few days later a tech was out installing it. Our 1897 house now has gigabit fiber from AT&T.
The tech indicated that they are focusing on areas with older infrastructure, and that areas with newer copper are a lower priority. I certainly haven't seen fiber everywhere, but in terms of Wisconsin, I've seen it in lots of places around Milwaukee, Madison, and Racine.
I have no idea what AT&T's schedule is, nor what their plans are outside of urban areas, but there's no question that 1) fiber *is* being rolled out and 2) it isn't just to new developments.
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Hey it's 2018
How's that fiber going? Me? well I still got the same dsl I had when this thread was started..
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Re: Hey it's 2018
Quite nicely, thanks.
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Nothing has Changed since 2015
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Re: Nothing has Changed since 2015
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More broken promises from AT&T
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Re: Re:
Then a month later 5mbps may as well been dialup and you realize how you got ripped off when google offered an "upgrade" for a monthly fee.
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