Looking to sell fiber services beyond its own wireline footprint and the areas targeted by the Gigapower JV, AT&T has teamed with four open access partners: Boldyn Networks, Digital Infrastructure Group, Prime Fiber and Ubiquity.
Locking in a new way to deliver fiber broadband in geographies beyond its own wireline footprint and the markets being targeted by the Gigapower joint venture, AT&T says it has struck deals with four commercial open access service providers: Boldyn Networks, Digital Infrastructure Group, Prime Fiber and Ubiquity.
AT&T believes those deals will not only broaden its ability to sell home broadband services in areas not currently being served by the company, but will also shore up AT&T's ability to package and sell converged wired/wireless offerings.
Update: Speaking today at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, AT&T CEO John Stankey confirmed that AT&T will use its own brand and "marketing know-how" in the markets where it's teaming up with its new open access partners. And AT&T will indeed push a home broadband/mobile combo in those instances, Stankey said.
Coincidentally, AT&T's handful of new open access deals comes on the heels of Verizon's proposed $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications, which will help to expand Verizon's fiber footprint and aid Verizon's convergence strategy.
AT&T said the open access partners were selected to help AT&T focus on areas where it currently does not have existing fiber options. As those partners add fiber locations, AT&T will evaluate where it wants to offer AT&T Fiber-branded services, the company said.
Here's a snapshot of AT&T's new open access partners:
Boldyn Networks: Focused on several industries, including transit venues, government, mixed use developments and enterprises, Boldyn has a major focus on providing network infrastructure to the US Armed Forces at more than 75 bases nationwide. Boldyn has already been working with AT&T to help modernize communications (including with fiber, FirstNet and other 5G connectivity) at military bases such as Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, and joint bases in San Antonio, Texas. Apogee, a unit of Boldyn, provides connectivity infrastructure and managed services to colleges and universities across the US.
Digital Infrastructure Group: Billed as a US and Canada-based "fiber-as-a-utility" business, Digital Infrastructure Group is in the process of expanding into new regions in the US. However, its first publicly listed project is in Canada: a 45,000-premises multi-municipality buildout in Alberta that started serving customers in 2023.
Prime Fiber: Backed by InLight Capital, Prime Fiber is an open-access fiber infrastructure that is initially building in Florida. AT&T said its agreement with Prime Fiber builds on an existing relationship with Prime Communications, AT&T's largest authorized retailer. Novos Fiber launched Prime Fiber as a separate open-access fiber business earlier this year.
Ubiquity: The Charlotte, North Carolina-based open-access fiber network specialist will provide access to AT&T across Ubiquity's multi-state footprint, which includes more than 30 markets in Arizona, California, Iowa, Texas and Florida. Ubiquity will also build exclusive greenfield areas for AT&T, initially in Minnesota. Access will include both multi-family communities and private homeowners' associations, AT&T said.
Fiber frenzy
AT&T currently serves more than 8.8 million fiber subs and is on track to pass more than 30 million residential and business locations with fiber in its own footprint by the end of 2025. AT&T said it could expand that target by 10 million to 15 million.
Gigapower, the JV with BlackRock, has initially targeted open-access fiber network builds to about 1.5 million locations outside of AT&T's legacy wireline footprint. AT&T confirmed today that Gigapower is looking beyond the initial 1.5 million target, noting that future expansions may include growth inside existing JV markets as well as new markets.
"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," Stankey said in a statement.
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