Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
AT&T is rolling out 2Gbps and 5Gbps speed tiers for its fiber-optic internet option. The company made the announcement to kick off its Life Gigified event, where it said new and existing AT&T Fiber customers will soon be able to take advantage of these multi-gig connections.
If you don’t know what multi-gig is, it means a single connection that offers speeds higher than 1Gbps. AT&T’s new multi-gig speeds need Wi-Fi 6 technology for “optimal” performance, which means you’ll probably want to upgrade your router, and of course, AT&T has a new “All-Fi” device ready. The company may offer even faster speeds eventually; AT&T says it reached speeds of 10Gbps in a lab environment.
The 2Gbps plan will cost $110 / month, while the 5Gbps plan is priced at $180 / month. Business plans will cost a bit more, however, at $225 / month for 2GB speeds and $395 / month for 5Gbps. AT&T is also introducing “straightforward pricing” for all of its Fiber plans, which it says will eliminate equipment fees, annual contracts, data caps, and 12-month price increases for new customers. Its new plans come with a free HBO Max subscription as well as ActiveArmor, AT&T’s cybersecurity service.
These new speed tiers will be available in over 70 metro areas, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Dallas. AT&T currently offers its fiber-optic network near cities spread out across the Southern, Midwestern, and Western portions of the US, but it plans to expand its service network to 30 million customers by 2025.
Previously, AT&T’s fiber-optic speeds ranged from 300Mbps to 1Gbps. Its move into multi-gig territory follows Google Fiber’s 2Gbps rollout in 2020 as well as Comcast’s 3Gbps offering for $299 / month. AT&T offers more information about the new speeds on its site.