Boston, MA 10/04/2013 (wallstreetpr) – AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) has declared that it plans to set up an all fiber, 1 gigabit network in the city of Austin, Texas. The other company which had shown its intent to set up a high speed broadband network in Austin was mighty Google.
The company plans to roll outs its U-verse with GigaPower from December 2013 onwards. And AT&T is roping in residents and their neighborhood to vote on the areas which AT&T should bring its services first. Initially, the company plans to reach a few thousand people before expanding to cover the entire city by 2014. It now seems that though Google announced its entry in Austin first, it will be AT&T which will reach the market first. But both companies have been tight lipped about pricing of the services, which would be a key factor in consumer’s choice.
It seems that Austin, which is home to a number of startups and technology ventures, has become a hot destination for internet service providers. This is eventually going to benefit customer who would now have more options to choose from.
So is it that this is a desperate move by AT&T to thwart off the so called Google-Threat? For many, the answer seems to be a resounding yes. They say that AT&T believes that seeing Google’s past record, it is very much possible that Google Fiber would be able to capture a lion’s share in ultra high speed broadband market if not contained. So AT&T has decided to play aggressive and proactive in its efforts to protect its turf.
But another giant Time Warner Cable has strangely decided not to pay any heed to the coming on-slaught of ultra high speed internet. It is apparently banking on its customers’ reluctance to change. And that is for lack of better word, hilarious. And in all likelihood, it would be companies like AT&T and Google, and not Time Warner Cable, which would be crossing the line when this race ends.
