In a country where internet service is awful in many areas and virtually no competition exists, AT&T decided it was time to offer more speed. Hot off the press release is the announcement of a five-gigabit plan available right now to customers. Juli Clover at MacRumors has the breakdown.
According to AT&T, the new plans are available to nearly 5.2 million customers across 70 metro areas including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Raleigh, Miami, and Dallas, with a full list available on AT&T's website.
AT&T Fiber 2 GIG is priced at $110 per month plus taxes, while the highest-speed AT&T Fiber 5 GIG plan is priced at $180 per month plus taxes.
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The speeds are symmetrical, meaning upload and download speeds are the same. This is a major advantage of fiber internet over cable internet using the DOCSIS communication protocol. While 5-gigabit service is incredibly fast and 5x the speed of what anyone else offers to residential locations, that price is something else.
Even the 2-gigabit service has a high price. However, compared to what many with gigabit service pay now, the jump two gigabit could be worth it. Of course, the issue with all of this is the lack of competition.
ISPs operate with near-monopoly status across the country. Few areas have any choice and many parts of the United States have sub-par internet. While it's great to see AT&T roll this out to so many on Day One, it doesn't change the fact that internet service in this country is not yet classified as a utility. Lobbying by ISPs block common-sense competition, and something as dumb as data caps remain in place. Realistic and reliable wireless home internet service via 5G, Starlink, and other technologies cannot come soon enough.