AT&T’s 5G home internet service is now available in far more places.
The company said in an updated post on Tuesday that the service, which it calls Internet Air, is available in 59 markets, including key ones like San Diego, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Indianapolis.
The news marks an expansion of more than two dozen markets, letting the telecommunications provider close the gap a bit with its two bigger rivals. AT&T launched Internet Air in earnest in the summer and has been expanding its reach, but it’s still years behind Verizon and T-Mobile, which have been in the market for at least two years with their 5G home internet offering.
The impact of the earlier start is evident in their respective numbers. In the fourth quarter, T-Mobile added 541,000 customers, while Verizon had less than half that amount with 231,000 customers. AT&T had the lowest tally with 67,000.
Still, AT&T has seen momentum build as it expands the number of markets and makes its service more broadly available. The company, like Verizon and T-Mobile, has been riding a wave of interest in 5G home internet, which we call Cord Cutting 2.0, which has pressured traditional cable providers like Comcast. Customers have been drawn in by the simple installation process and straightforward pricing plans.
AT&T was long resistant to entering 5G home internet, mostly focusing on fiber as the primary broadband option. But fiber is costly and time-consuming to roll out, while 5G home internet largely uses excess spectrum capacity from its wireless network.