AT&T is now - officially - rolling out gigabit Internet in Austin, Texas.
The company started offering its U-verse with AT&T GigaPower service in December, but at the time, Austin customers could only get up to 300 Mbps. AT&T promised an upgrade to full 1 Gigabit per second service in 2014, and that is now underway in the region.
The company's fastest high-speed Internet service is now available to tens of thousands of households in and around Austin. Those already subscribed to U-verse with AT&T GigaPower will automatically be upgraded to the faster speeds.
AT&T offers a premier ($70/month for 1 Gbps speeds plus $120/month for TV services) or standard package ($99/month for 1 Gbps speeds). Subscribers can schedule up to five DVR recordings at a time, watch 100-plus live TV channels at home and on the go, and catch up with on-demand shows on a handful of smartphones and tablets.
"This is an exciting day for Internet enthusiasts in the capital city," AT&T Texas President Dave Nichols said in a statement. "Our customers can now stream and download video and music faster than ever before. It will change the way they navigate the Web, interact with social media, and complete business transactions."
And with the addition of AT&T's TV app, Austin Found, U-Verse television customers can find personalized information on local food, entertainment, and events.
AT&T also introduced a new promotion for area residents who add a new wireless plan to a U-verse with AT&T GigaPower account, or vice versa. Those customers will be eligible for a one-time $100 promotional credit on their monthly wireless bill. The offer is available through Nov. 8.
Since AT&T initially announced its initiative to expand GigaPower, the company has committed to deliver its fiber network to Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, and Winston-Salem, N.C.; Overland Park, Kan.; Houston and San Antonio, Texas; and Nashville, Tenn.
This summer, the carrier will light up its network in the North Texas areas of Dallas, Fort Worth, and the surrounding cities.
If AT&T's DirecTV acquisition proves successful, meanwhile, the company promised to expand its GigaPower network to an additional 2 million customer locations.
In Austin, AT&T will face off against Google Fiber, which will roll out there soon. For other cities that offer gigabit Internet, check out the slideshow above.