AT&T Fiber Deployment in CA Leaves Middle and Low-Income Communities Behind

In a first-ever analysis, "AT&T's Digital Divide in California" looks at the deployment of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service in California by the largest telecommunication company in the state. The findings show that the early deployment of the company’s “gigapower” all-fiber service is concentrated in wealthier communities, relegating lower-income neighborhoods to less advanced technologies that offer markedly slower speeds.

Drawing on newly-released Federal Communications Commission data, the report highlights income-based disparities in service across 71 percent of California, or 56 California counties in which AT&T provides wireline phone and internet service. The report also reveals 42.8 percent of California households – approximately 4.1 million homes – in AT&T’s network do not have access to high-speed broadband from AT&T as defined by the Federal Communications Commission, which classifies this service as a 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) download/3 Mbps upload connection.