AT&T Leverages Every Tool to Retain US Fiber Market Lead

AT&T fiber optic, determined to maintain its US fiber deployment lead, plans to counter rivals’ recent progress by adopting open-access service models to stay ahead this year.

In a hot US consumer services sector seeing feverish fiber M&A activity, AT&T isn’t resting on its lead. This week, AT&T fiber optics plans expanded its $1 billion-plus purchase agreement with US fiber vendor Corning, positioning itself to keep the pedal to the metal against competitors Verizon and T-Mobile.

Empowering the Expansion of AT&T Optic Fiber Internet

The Corning deal follows AT&T fiber optic in September 2024 announcement to expand its open-access fiber network strategy, widening its deal with BlackRock’s Gigapower venture to reach more than 1.5 million premises and partnering with other players including Boldyn Networks and Digital Infrastructure Group.

It targeted passing over 30 million locations with fiber by the end of 2025, though it said it could extend that to 40–45 million as it benefits from favorable returns on its fiber investments.

The open-access partnerships would let AT&T fiber optics availability add coverage without the need to internally finance big areas of overbuild, increasing the reach toward the population while supporting compliance with US Build America, Buy America requirements.

This alignment would also position AT&T fiber optic installation for future broadband funding opportunities and smooth supply chain dependencies as the market heads toward a widely predicted fiber shortage.

Aggressive Expansion of AT&T Fiber Optic

AT&T CEO John Stankey doesn’t mince words about its ambition to remain “first and biggest” in fiber. During his comments at the recent Goldman Sachs Communicopia + Technology conference, Stankey gave an update on the company’s plan to go well beyond the more than 28 million locations it currently has in its fiber footprint-a competitive bar for both Verizon and T-Mobile.

CFO Pascal Desroches made that a bit more tangible when he said, during the Q3 2024 earnings call for AT&T fiber optic, it was going to add 10-15 million more fiber locations atop its prior target-for the simple reason that returns on its investments are looking pretty good.

With AT&T fiber optic speed accelerating its fiber strategy, the company positions itself in a market that is going to be very competitive, fueled by significant M&A deals, while consumer demand for high-speed internet is growing.

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