AT&T has officially announced an expansion of its partnership with BlackRock. According to certain reports, this the company has done to expand their Gigapower joint venture. More on the same would reveal how the development in question allows AT&T to expand Gigapower’s fiber footprint beyond the initial 1.5 million locations announced in December 2022. This expansion bid is likely to include growth in its existing geographies, as well as the introduction of new geographies. All in all, the whole effort builds upon AT&T’s stature as an industry-leader in fiber space. You see, as of today, four of every 10 AT&T Fiber households choose AT&T wireless service. Furthermore, AT&T’s Mobility business performs better where it offers fiber. On top of that, AT&T’s postpaid phone subscriber share is also about 500 basis points higher where the Company offers AT&T Fiber versus its average subscriber share nationwide.
“BlackRock is proud to partner with AT&T to bring high-speed internet to more American households,” said Larry Fink, chairman and chief executive officer, BlackRock. “This continuing investment on behalf of our clients in Gigapower is helping bridge the digital divide and supporting economic growth in communities across America through expanded access to critical broadband services.”
Anyway, beyond the expansion of its partnership with BlackRock, the telecom giant has confirmed four new agreements with commercial open-access providers i.e. Boldyn Networks, Digital Infrastructure Group, PRIME FiBER and Ubiquity. Markedly enough, these fiber agreements provide AT&T with wholesale access to fiber broadband networks of the given companies, and therefore, enable it to offer Fiber and 5G wireless services to more customers. Further expanding upon the stated four agreements, each company here was brought in largely because of the way they provide opportunities to expand AT&T Fiber distribution across new service areas without existing fiber options. Talk about the selected companies on a slightly deeper level, though, we begin from Boldyn Networks, who happens to be a trusted provider across a wide range of industries, including transit, venues, government, mixed use developments, and enterprises. Furthermore, the company’s portfolio includes a significant focus on the U.S. Armed Forces, providing network infrastructure at more than 75 bases nationwide across all military branches. As for its agreement with AT&T, it builds upon the companies’ bid to modernize communications at military bases, including delivering fiber, FirstNet, and 5G communications. Boldyn Networks is initially building the necessary infrastructure at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, with joint bases set to be introduced in San Antonio, Texas.
Next up, we have Digital Infrastructure Group, a US-based wholesale fiber developer and operator with extensive broadband experience in international markets.
“AT&T is America’s largest and leading fiber provider,” said John Stankey, chief executive officer of AT&T. “With our organic fiber build, we’re seeing improving returns as we expand our network. In new service areas, Gigapower is ramping well, and we’re targeting additional geographies for growth with the joint venture and other commercial open-access agreements. Customers tell us they want a high-performance wireless and broadband experience from a single provider, and AT&T is best positioned to serve this growing need.”
Moving on to PRIME FiBER, it is a newly established commercial open-access fiber infrastructure provider serving internet service providers, infrastructure consolidators, and enterprises across the US. As for what made the company an ideal partner, the answer stems from AT&T’s longstanding collaboration with Prime Communications. In case you weren’t aware, Prime Communications has been AT&T’s largest authorized retailer, a retailer who would also provide augmented fiber distribution benefits. Rounding up highlights here is Ubiquity; a company that has built one of the nation’s largest commercial open-access fiber networks, In essence, Ubiquity will enable AT&T to have an uninterrupted access of its multi-state footprint, delivering fiber to private access locations, including multifamily communities and private homeowners’ associations (HOAs) on a targeted basis. Beyond that, the company also hopes to build exclusive greenfield areas for AT&T, starting from an initial project Minnesota.
Assuming all these agreements fulfill what is expected of them, they will help AT&T pass 30 million+ consumer and business locations with fiber by the end of 2025.
