AT&T Closes Open Access Fiber Deal With BlackRock
In a new joint venture, AT&T will expand its fiber network across the nation.
Teralyn Whipple
NEW ORLEANS, May 12, 2023 – AT&T is set to invest several million dollars of capital into fiber builds across the country as it announces the closing of its joint venture deal with fund manager BlackRock, the company said.
In December, AT&T and BlackRock announced the formation of their joint venture, Gigapower LLC, to operate and deploy a fiber network to 1.5 million customers using a commercial open access platform.
The deal between the companies closed Thursday. According to the press release, the new company’s goal is to “create the United States’ largest commercial wholesale open access fiber network to bring high-speed connectivity to more Americans.”
“We believe fiber connectivity changes everything. That’s why we’re already one of the biggest investors in fiber in the United States,” said John Stankey, CEO of AT&T in a statement.
“The demand for high-speed connectivity is unprecedented, and through this innovative partnership with BlackRock, one of the world’s foremost investors in infrastructure, we’re able to connect even more people and businesses, accelerating our efforts to help close the digital divide,” he said.
Gigapower will enable AT&T to expand its fiber reach beyond its traditional areas and spread across the country, read the press release. BlackRock brings significant expertise and capital to support the buildout.
The company expects to expand into Las Vegas, Nevada and areas of Arizona as well as Northeastern Pennsylvania and parts of Alabama and Florida that are currently outside of AT&T’s service areas.
Christopher Sambar, executive vice president of AT&T, said in a Connect (X) event Wednesday that the company has already invested millions of dollars to build the most expansive fiber network in America.
Between 2018 and 2022, AT&T invested $120 billion into the US economy via capital expenditures, he said, making the company one of the largest capital investors in America.
Fiber is the backbone of wireless and 5G technology, he said. It is essential that the industry builds the foundation of fiber to support 5G and enable further innovations in the technology.
According to Sambar, well over 170 million customers are being serviced with high-speed 5G networks and close to 300 million are serviced with speeds close to 5G.
