AT&T Prepares to Defend Austin, CenturyLink Picks Calix

The response to Google’s Kansas City gambit is gaining steam, as both AT&T and CenturyLink are making strides toward actual 1Gbps FTTH offerings, each in a single market of course.

When Google announced that Austin would get the gigabit treatment, AT&T responded with its own plans to bring fiber to the Texas capital. There were some who thought it was a PR stunt that would fizzle, but today AT&T put some spine into those plans. They have begun deployment of their GigaPowerSM version of U-verse in the city, and plan to start offering it to the initial customers in December – just in time for Christmas. That will initially be at 300Mbps with the full 1Gbps expected by mid-2014.  Looks like they’re really going to do it, although the main purpose is probably more to discourage Google from taking on more AT&T markets than to bring a gigabit to the rest of their footprint.

Meanwhile, up in Nebraska we have some more details on CenturyLink’s plans for their similar 1Gbps rollout in Omaha. They’re deploying Calix’s ESAP and ONT products to power the GPON network that will underly the whole thing.   It could be a big win for Calix, assuming the trial evolves into a full blown rollout someday.

Now all we have to do is get Verizon to restart its FIOS expansion. I mean besides the Sandy areas that they caved on recently.

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Categories: FTTH · Telecom Equipment