AT&T Plugs GigaPower Into Cupertino

GigaPower has reached the West coast.

AT&T announced Monday that it has rolled out its fiber-based, 1-Gig capable fiber-based platform to parts of Cupertino, Calif., the tech-savvy city that serves as the home of Apple.

AT&T, which counts Comcast among its competitors there, also announced that GigaPower subs in Cupertino will get an upgraded WiFi gateway.

In Cupertino areas that are eligible, AT&T will sell its “Premier” 1-Gig service starting at $110 per month, if customers agree to participate in AT&T Internet Preferences, the telco’s targeted ad program taps into a customer's Web search terms and Web site visits. The 1-Gig/TV bundle starts at $150 per month, and a triple-play package with 1-Gig starts at $180 per month. AT&T is also pitching a 300 Mbps version that starts at $80 per month. The stand-alone services and TV bundles come with a one-year price guarantee, and the triple-play packages come with a two-year price guarantee, according to AT&T, which estimates that it has invested $475 million in wireless and wired networks in San Jose between 2012 and 2014.

The launch in Cupertino followed the recent debut of AT&T GigaPower in pockets of Kansas City, where AT&T is offering a stand-alone version of the 1-Gig service for $70 per month, a price that matches up with Google Fiber’s standalone gigabit plan.

AT&T has also launched GigaPower  in Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth, Texas; and Raleigh-Durham and Winston-Salem, N.C. AT&T has announced plans to deploy GigaPower in parts of 11 additional markets – Atlanta; Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C.; Chicago; Houston; Jacksonville, Fla.; Miami; Nashville, Tenn.; St. Louis and San Antonio.

AT&T has said it’s weighing GigaPower rollouts in up to 100 cities across 25 markets, and has also pledged to expand its fiber-based platform to an additional 2 million customer locations as part of its proposed acquisition of DirecTV.

"AT&T has been bringing the latest, most advanced technology to our customers for well over a century, and today we continue that tradition by launching U-verse with AT&T GigaPower – the fastest high-speed Internet available – in Cupertino,” said Ken McNeely, president of AT&T California, in a statement.  “Cupertino has fostered an environment where innovation can thrive, and we are proud that they are the first city in California to get the ultra-fast speeds on the AT&T GigaPower network. This investment will help empower the next generation of entrepreneurs and creative thinkers in Cupertino and across the Valley."

“We are proud to be the first city on the west coast to launch the AT&T GigaPower network, bringing the speed of fiber to homes and businesses” added Cupertino Mayor Rod Sinks.