A fast and reliable connection is a top priority for everyone. If you engage in intensive activities like gaming, 4K/8K streaming, or work that requires a lot of bandwidth, fiber optic is a better option than cable internet.
Amongst the existing providers, AT&T is the popular one that claims faster speeds, lower latency, scalability, and good signal quality. But their plans are expensive. So is its performance worth spending extra dollars?
Let’s find out!
Product Name: AT&T Fiber
Product Description: AT&T Fiber is a popular provider with plans ranging from 300 Mbps to 5 Gig. It's available in 21 states and expanding.
Currency: USD
Availability: InStock
Short Review
ATT’s fiber internet turns out an excellent option for large homes and businesses. I didn’t encounter any issues and it is quite reliable. The speeds don’t throttle even at peak hours. Although costly, it’s worth it.
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Plans
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Speeds
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Availability
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Up Time
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Customer Support
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Cost vs Value
Pros
- No data cap
- Excellent speeds
- Available in most regions
- No contracts required
- Valuable perks and promotions
Cons
- Costly
Contents
AT&T Fiber User Reviews
Got the ATT fiber connection last month after tirelessly switching from CenturyLink. The charges are a bit high, but the services it provides make it worth it.
Aileen A
Been using the AT&T Fiber 1000 Mbps plan for almost a year, and to say less, I am fully satisfied. Irrespective of the activities, gaming, streaming, or browsing, the experience has been top-notch.
Frank M
Having moved out of the country, no one could provide strong service. Testing all popular providers, ATT comes through with the best solution for weak signals. Highly recommended!
Rodney L
The service representative who assisted me in changing my entire home connection was friendly and skilled in getting it done very fast. But just that you have to pay $99 every time a technician comes out is ridiculous.
Brian E
All internet says they’re fast, but AT&T stays true to its promise even during peak hours. I can download a large file within seconds and stream any 4K content lag-free. I didn’t even face major downtimes.
Kelley J
The best part about it is there are no data caps as with Xfinity. I can browse and download in peace without worrying about exhausting the data.
Sharon E
AT&T Fiber Plans & Pricing
Plan | Download Speed | Upload Speed | Price | Data Cap |
---|---|---|---|---|
Internet 300 | 300 Mbps | 300 Mbps | $55 | None |
Internet 500 | 500 Mbps | 500 Mbps | $65 | None |
Internet`1000 | 940 Mbps | 880 Mbps | $80 | None |
Internet 2000 | 2 Gbps | 2 Gbps | $110 | None |
Internet 5000 | 5 Gbps | 5 Gbps | $180 | None |
I have been into networking for almost a decade and have used most internet services including Xfinity, Cox, Spectrum, Optimum, and Google Fiber. I now understand what works in favor of internet service and what doesn’t.
For this review, I carried out several tests with their Internet 1000 plan (1 Gbps) for three months on a trot and deduced opinions.
Speeds & Network Performance
Before I talk about the results, an aspect worth noticing about AT&T fiber is that it offers symmetrical download and upload speeds, unlike broadband connections.
None of AT&T’s plans comes with a data cap, so do anything without worrying about exhausting the data. But are the speeds worth so many tasks?
To answer that, I took AT&T’s 1000 Mbps plan which comes with 940 Mbps download and 880 Mbps upload speed.
With Netgear RAXE500 (one of the best-rated fiber internet routers) added to the mix, my MacBook Pro (testing system) averaged 910 Mbps of download and 812 Mbps of upload speed at around 30 feet from the internet equipment.
And moving farther at around 50 feet distance yielded respective speeds of up to 713 Mbps and 654 Mbps.
With the same plan, the speeds might alter drastically depending on the router you’re using, the area you’re staying in, and others. But with the speed I got, and let me do so much over the internet.
During non-peak hours (11 PM to 6 AM), it gives an average latency of 21ms, while during peak hours (11 AM to 5 PM), the value stayed around 36ms. On the other hand, respective latency over wired connections fared at around 14ms.
The gaming performance is highest with wired connections and at night over wireless connections. But even the 36ms ping isn’t bad at all. FYI, anything below 50ms is considered very good, which indeed replicates my gaming experience.
Games like Destiny 2 and Red Dead Redemption 2 clocked an FPS value of 75 and 62. And during my 1-hour playtime, there weren’t any lags or network drop-offs.
Besides gaming, the available speed successfully enables 4K movie streams, video calls, stock trades, and tax payments over different devices simultaneously.
AT&T Fiber Optic’s Availability
Availability has always been an exigent challenge for fiber connections, be it Xfinity or Ziply Fiber. However, contrasting them, AT&T has made itself available in 21 states across the country.
Here’s the list of states where ATT’s Fiber Optic connection is available:
Alabama | Kansas | Nevada |
Arkansas | Kentucky | Ohio |
California | Louisiana | Oklahoma |
Florida | Michigan | South Carolina |
Georgia | Missouri | Tennessee |
Illinois | Mississippi | Texas |
Indiana | North Carolina | Wisconsin |
However, I would suggest checking availability in your area beforehand, as not every house is built for its services. The fibre connection is only accessible in densely populated areas.
Cost vs Value Proposition
Let’s talk about the prices of internet plans first. It ranges from $55 per month for the basic 300 Mbps plan to $180 per month for the fastest 5 Gbps plan.
The prices are a bit higher than other providers like Spectrum or Ziply, but unlike the hybrid plans in many, its prices are pretty straightforward, so your bill doesn’t soar automatically after a year.
To take full advantage of these high-speed plans, you need powerful Fiber-supported equipment. Most internet providers charge a rental for their equipment, but things work a bit differently with AT&T.
Until 2021, the provider used to charge a $10 monthly rental fee for its WiFi gateway which was inescapable even if you use your own equipment. But that’s pretty harsh, considering how high their internet fee already is.
So, from 2022, AT&T now includes the equipment rental fee in the monthly bill, which you can avoid altogether. This, I say, is a great and fair move by ISP.
Other than that, a $99 upfront whole-home internet activation and installation fee adds up to the cost. Self-install kit, although it comes along is unavailable in most areas, so check for it beforehand.
Besides, if you’re struggling with weak signals in the house, you can purchase a $50 smart Airties extender from them. However, I’d rather suggest getting a good third-party WiFi extender to extend your AT&T connection.
But what’s great with AT&T is it doesn’t bind you with any contracts and ensures your bill stays the same after a year. In this way, you can switch internet providers whenever you want. Also, you don’t have to pay any cancellation charges.
Installation & Setup
AT&T provides two installation options to its customers: self-installation or standard professional installation.
Professional Installation
The standard professional installation fee is included in the whole-home internet activation fee. Professional help is your only option if your home is not already compatible with fiber internet. If compatible, you can opt for self-installation.
Call on 800-772-3140 to schedule a home visit with the technician, and he will upgrade the internet lines to your home to deliver the best possible internet experience. It takes around six to eight hours to be fully installed.
Self Installation
For that, AT&T Fiber provides you with a kit that includes the gateway device, green ethernet cable, Red ONT ethernet cable, yellow ethernet cable, gray phone cable, power cord, and instructions manual. Follow the steps to complete the installation:
- Connect the AT&T service box (one that connects the AT&T system to your home), and mount it on a wall. Connect the green and red ethernet cable to the green PON & ethernet port, respectively, while the black power cord to the electrical outlet.
- Connect the red ONT cable of the service box to the ONT port of the gateway and the black power cord of the gateway to the electrical outlet.
- Using the app, set up the WiFi network by entering the default username and password and following the instructions thereafter. Then, customize the settings as you want to.
- That’s it, you’re done.
Customer Service Experience
AT&T crows that “serving their customers” runs in their blood, and the company nabbed a top score in a survey run by JD Power. In the West and South regions, the fiber internet manages a score of 745 on a 1000-point scale. Besides that, other similar studies show similar results.
If you ask me, I can vouch for these results with the service I received from them when my internet connection suddenly shut off. Upon calling, the technician responded immediately and got the connection fixed within a few hours.
If you have any queries or want to book a home appointment, you can call 800-288-2020 or chat with their customer service representative over their app.
Frequently Asked Questions
In terms of speed, coverage, performance, and reliability, AT&T Fiber is one of the best available for customers.
Yes, there are no data caps with AT&T fiber.
The maximum speed that you can get out of AT&T fiber is 5 Gbps, and the raw speeds come at 4.7 Gbps at max.
The plans of AT&T range from $55 for the basic to $180 for the fastest plan.
It usually depends on the type of router and the plan you subscribe to. For example, the AT&T Internet 1000 and TP-Link Archer AX90 can handle up to 50 high-bandwidth devices at once, while the number is 38 for Archer AX73.
Both are great in terms of speed and reliability, but you get more plan options with AT&T starting from 300 Mbps-5000 Gbps, while Google Fiber plans start only from 1000 Mbps.
Conclusion
AT&T Fiber is a great addition to your networking setup that excels in most respects except in affordability. If you have facilities for that, I definitely recommend subscribing to it. Saying that I’d wrap up this review.
Tell me in the comments below if you have any queries regarding this. Till then, Goodbye and take care!
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