As expected, AT&T Wednesday officially launched its High Speed Internet Access, powered by WildBlue service.
Earlier this month AT&T’s CEO Edward Whitacre tipped his hat to the company’s plans to roll out new services to fill in the gaps where it could not reach customers with more traditional broadband services such as DSL.
AT&T’s new satellite service is available to customers in rural and remote locations in the carrier’s 13-state local calling area. It is part of AT&T’s plan to offer broadband services to 100% of its customer base.
AT&T says it is the largest DSL provider with 7.4 million DSL lines in service. But the service does not reach all customers. The carrier is also testing WiMAX wireless Internet access services to fill in broadband gaps for other customers.
AT&T’s High Speed Internet Access, powered by WildBlue offering supports up to 1.5Mbps downstream and up to 256Kbps upstream. The service costs between $49.95 and $79.95 per month depending on which package a customer selects.
The carrier says that its new offering is another service option for “as many as 11.5 million homes.” But initially the service will be available to customers in the most rural parts of Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Kansas, Nevada, Oklahoma and Texas.
Service is also available in parts of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.
