AT&T is now planning to use fiber in more than 60,000 locations in three states through a public-private partnership arrangement with municipalities, the latest agreement with the city of Amarillo, Texas, where AT&T Broadband Access and Adoption President Jeff Luong said it is pursuing more deals like this within and outside its existing operations.
The $24 million project in Amarillo will use XGS-PON fiber to cover about 22,000 locations. The start of work is contingent on the city's final approval of its portion of the construction funding.
AT&T's deal in Amarillo follows earlier agreements for two other projects with Vanderburgh County, Indiana, and Oldham County, Kentucky, each of which will cover 20,000 locations. The project will also address issues of affordability and adoption.
"The area that this city is trying to address is actually the urban core. It's really an area that they see as underserved," he said. "We're expanding access, and when we work with the Affordable Connectivity Program, we'll offer a very affordable, free solution, and then we'll be actively involved in adoption, digital literacy and other types of activities to make sure people have access, they can afford it, and they understand how to use the service."
AT&T is currently working to increase its fiber coverage from 15 million to 30 million by the end of 2025. As of the end of the first quarter, it covered about 17 million locations with fiber, up 2.4 million year-over-year. luong said that despite the carrier's extensive efforts, "more connectivity is needed," but noted that the economics of building in certain areas can be challenging. Public-private partnerships offer an opportunity to help bridge that gap to reach more locations. "We believe that public-private partnerships are the most effective and efficient way to bridge the digital divide," he said.
So far, the three public-private partnership deals AT&T has announced fall within its existing coverage. But Luong said it is also in talks with interested communities outside its footprint and will pursue deals in areas that make sense.
As the name implies, partnerships with communities include a combination of public and private funding for investments. up to now, Luong said, most communities have been using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) state and local financial recovery funds or their own local budgets to drive investments in broadband deployment. But funding from ARPA Capital Projects and from the new Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program is expected to start flowing through the pipeline in the coming months.
So far, public-private partnerships are not currently a significant contributor to AT&T's capital spending, accounting for only a few tens of millions of dollars over a two- to three-year time horizon compared to its $2 billion-plus annual spending. But that could change.
"Now is the time to get involved, and we're ready to get involved ...... We're actively talking to anyone who wants to talk to us," Luong said. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's the golden age of connectivity. From a public perspective, this type of funding is not going to happen again anytime soon in the future."
