Around Town

AT&T wins the high-speed Internet race, launches service in Charlotte

By CharlotteFive Staff

The story

Let’s call this the “Google Fiber” effect.

On Monday, AT&T launched its super-fast Internet service to some residential and small business customers in parts of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

The Internet speeds are so fast that you can download 25 songs in one second. (We know that no one downloads songs anymore — thanks Spotify — but stick with us.)

The facts

– The network, called U-verse with AT&T GigaPower, offers speeds up to 100 times faster than typical Internet services — up to 1 Gbps.

– Interested? You can check to see if you’re eligible for the service by going to att.com/gigapower.

– Time Warner Cable is also planning to bring faster internet speeds to customers this summer with “TWC Maxx.” (It has two “x”s, so you know it’s good.)

– And, of course, Google Fiber keeps doing its thing, “making great progress” and such, and keeping quiet about when exactly the service will be available.

– The pricing for AT&T’s service: Just internet starts at about $70/month; add in TV for about $120/month; and get TV, Internet and phone for about $150/month.

What does 1 Gbps mean? 

Let’s put it in terms we can all understand. At that speed, you could:

– Download a whole season of “The Bachelorette” in HD in about 36 seconds.

– Download the entire “Star Wars” trilogy — the original three movies, of course — in 108 seconds.

– Download the Hozier album in about half a second. (He’s coming to the Uptown Amphitheatre Wednesday, by the way.)

C5’s take

Faster Internet means that you can get to C5 faster, so obviously we’re for it.

This story was originally published June 16, 2015 at 1:42 AM.

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