State Telecom Activities

摘要

AT&T’s gigabit network in Austin, Texas, should lower prices and improve customer services,rnRondella Hawkins, Austin Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs officer, told us Wednesday.rnAT&T is deploying a gigabit-speed fiber network in Austin in December, before Google Fiber’s start inrnmid-2014 (CD Oct 2 p7). The city doesn't have a service agreement with AT&T for its upcoming gigabitrnnetwork because the company is upgrading its existing infrastructure, said Hawkins. “Both services willrnprovide faster services than what we already have, but we’re waiting to hear from AT&T what its pricingrnstructure will be,” she said. The city received about 160 applications from local businesses to becomerncommunity anchor institutions in order to receive free Google Fiber service, said Hawkins. Her officernwill review the applications with Google Fiber and present the city council with a proposed list of sites onrnNov. 21 for approval. AT&T hasn't announced plans to provide free gigabit service to any institutions,rnbut the city “welcomes the opportunity to start discussions,” said Hawkins. — SF