AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) isn't slowing down with its gigabit deployments. This week, the operator added a dozen new markets to its GigaPower list including areas of Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Miami and Orlando. Also on the list is Salisbury, N.C., where municipally owned service provider Fibrant recently announced it will begin offering 10-Gig service to area residents in 2016. (See Carolina Town Becomes First US 10-Gig City.)

The town of Portland, Me. is following in Salisbury's muni-broadband footprints. The town has issued a request for proposals to extend an existing city-owned fiber network to additional municipal buildings. As phase two of the project, the city says it hopes to expand into offering high-speed broadband services to residential and commercial customers along that same fiber route.

While publicly funded broadband deployments are growing in popularity, some cities are getting the benefit of private investment even when there isn't a big name like AT&T or Google Fiber Inc. in town. In the case of Hagerstown, Md., the city put out an RFP looking for broadband partners, and Antietam Cable responded with an offer to invest $3 million in a new fiber network. Construction is set to begin early next year, and Antietam plans to offer gigabit service to residents for two years at a cost of $99 per month plus a $99 installation fee.

— Mari Silbey, Senior Editor, Cable/Video, Light Reading