AT&T Accelerates Fiber Network Expansion Through New Partnerships

AT&T has announced the completion of major customer agreements with four commercial open-access fiber broadband providers. Under these agreements, which include the existing Gigapower joint venture with the investment firm BlackRock, AT&T plans to further expand its fiber network. This comes amidst a race among wireless providers to expand their fiber networks—Verizon Communications invested $20 billion last week in pure fiber provider Frontier Communications, while T-Mobile acquired a 50% stake in fiber operator Lumos in April. AT&T will now initiate several expansion projects in Texas, Florida, and Minnesota with its new partners Boldyn Networks, Digital Infrastructure Group, Prime Fiber, and Uniquity. "Each company AT&T collaborates with has been selected based on their capabilities to expand AT&T Fiber into new areas without existing fiber options," AT&T stated in their press release. "With the expansion of these providers, AT&T will continuously evaluate where AT&T Fiber should be offered." Although AT&T did not specify the exact scale of the initial projects, the telecommunications giant emphasized that it is on track to achieve its goal of 30 million fiber locations by the end of 2025. Currently, the company serves more than 8.8 million fiber customers and has a total of 28 million residential and business fiber locations. "AT&T’s CEO John Stankey explained: "In new service areas, Gigapower is being well received. We are targeting additional geographic growth opportunities with the joint venture and other commercial open-access agreements. Customers tell us they want robust wireless and broadband experiences from a single provider, and AT&T is best positioned to meet this growing demand." To date, AT&T and BlackRock have announced expansion plans in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas.