AT&T unleashes 5-gig internet for 5.2 million fiber customers in 70 markets

What you need to know

• AT&T's fiber network is being upgraded with 2Gbps and 5Gbps speeds starting with 5.2 million customer locations in 70 metro areas.
• AT&T plans to keep expanding multi-gig fiber to 30 million locations by the end of 2025.
• AT&T Fiber 2 GIG starts at $110 per month plus taxes. Equipment fees are included and there are no data caps.

AT&T has unveiled a multi-gig fiber upgrade for millions of its customers in 70 metro areas starting January 24, 2022. At launch, what AT&T is calling Hyper-Gig speeds are available to 5.2 million customer locations with AT&T aiming to take that up to 30 million by the end of 2025. AT&T has two new plans with the 2 GIG plan coming in at $110 per month and the 5 GIG plan costing $180 per month.

Both of AT&T's new multi-gig plans and the older 1 GIG plan come with HBO Max included in the price as well as AT&T's Active Armor Internet security package. These plans also have no data caps so you can use the full speed of your connection as much as you want without worrying about the overages that are common with cable internet.

There are several reasons to choose a fiber connection over cable or 5G but one of the biggest is symmetrical upload and download speeds. Most internet providers will offer very high download speeds but leave customers with inadequate upload speeds which can make uploading files to the internet take much longer than downloading that same file. AT&T's fiber however has the same upload speeds as download so no matter if your sending or receiving, you get the full speed of your connection. It also enables video streaming quality to remain high even with multiple concurrent connections

Having a low upload speed can have a big negative impact on your internet experience. Great upload speeds are great for those working from home as well as gamers and especially streamers. If you like to stream to Twitch or Youtube and have found your chat complaining about buffering or low quality, your connection may not be up to the job. Fiber connections also tend to have lower latency than cable and 5G which can give gamers a competitive edge. AT&T also includes a WI-Fi 6 gateway for free with these plans though if your select the 5 GIG options, you may want the extra speed of one of the best Wi-Fi 6E routers.

Business customers can also sign up with the AT&T Business Fiber 2 GIG coming in at $225 per month and the 5 GIG options costing $395 per month. This can be essential for businesses that are adapting to employees that are working from home and customers that expect a speedy and reliable connection to the business in question.