AT&T is trying to muscle its way ahead of Verizon and T-Mobile and bring consumers an answer to the pain point of the cost for monthly internet service.
The company plans to expand the use of 5G broadband cellular network for the home with Internet Air, a new fixed wireless home internet service that gives consumers a Wi-Fi delivered signal at the remarkably competitive price of $55 – $15 less than the average monthly internet access cost.
The company is being choosy about where it makes Internet Air available, though. It says it’s “hyper-focused” on selecting geo-locations that have decent enough wireless coverage and capacity to deliver a great in-home experience and still maintain high-quality wireless service for its existing mobile users.
Those lucky locations include: Los Angeles; Philadelphia, Cincinnati; Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon, Pa.; Pittsburgh; Las Vegas; Phoenix (Prescott); Chicago; Detroit; Flint-Saginaw-Bay City; Hartford-New Haven, Conn.; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Portland, Ore; Salt Lake City; Seattle-Tacoma; and Tampa-St. Petersburg (Sarasota).
Ease of set-up
The cherry on top is that consumers can self-install the system in five steps and be up and running in less than 15 minutes.
When customers open the box, they will scan a QR code to access simple instructions. Most of the set-up is handled via the AT&T Smart Home Manager app, which identifies the strongest connection spot in your home so you can put the device there. The company claims its Wi-Fi extenders will enable you to create a mesh Wi-Fi network throughout your home, eliminating those dreaded dead zones.
Cost pluses
The $55 a month price point is the standard issue cost, but Internet Air is also eligible for the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) which provides eligible households with a benefit of up to $30 a month (up to $75 a month on qualifying Tribal lands) to reduce the cost of broadband service.
The company is kicking off its promotion of the product by giving new and existing AT&T Wireless customers Internet AirTM for $35 a month in select zip codes and with an eligible wireless plan.