AT&T’s Internet Air 5G home broadband service is rolling out quickly.
AT&T CEO John Stankey said on the company’s earnings conference call Thursday that the carrier signed up 25,000 customers in the third quarter. That’s notable given that it expanded its service to 16 markets in late August, meaning it effectively had just over a month to go. Before the expansion, the service was in three test markets in Los Angeles, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
These numbers are in line with the tremendous growth in 5G home internet seen by Verizon and T-Mobile, both of which were ahead of AT&T by more than a year. Both Verizon and T-Mobile are set to share third-quarter financial numbers next week, with numbers likely to be much higher than AT&T’s.
5G home Internet is currently the star of the show in the broadband world, with growth outpacing that of other Internet services, including cable, DSL (which is in steep decline), and fiber. Consumers are attracted by the simple setup process and easy-to-understand pricing.
“We see this service as another tool in our connectivity toolbox,” Stankey said on the call. While it functions primarily as a targeted product, we were pleased with its positive initial reception.
The company has said it plans to use 5G home internet as a way to lure customers away from legacy DSL lines, allowing it to attract subscribers who would otherwise be looking for alternatives. For the quarter, Stankey noted that 25,000 customers helped keep its total net broadband increase positive.
For example, AT&T’s Internet Air service costs $55 per month after the $5 AutoPay discount.
Similar to T-Mobile, Stankey said the ultimate goal is not to get people onto 5G home internet, but to transition them to fiber. But fiber deployment is often slow and complicated, as are the logistics of building more physical lines. Currently, 5G is the faster option in many cases.
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