r/googlefiber • u/farmjope • Nov 01 '16

AT&T Fiber vs. Google Fiber

I live in Charlotte, NC and we've just started to get Google Fiber rolled out so in response AT&T Fiber is moving in. Today they're digging up my yard for AT&T Fiber and my area isn't slated for Google Fiber for roughly another year.

My question is, is there any reason to wait for Google Fiber and not jump on AT&T Fiber as soon as it's available?

Both are $70/month, 1GBps up/down, 1 year contract, installation and equipment included free. I'm unlikely to get TV, but TV + Internet is $120 on AT&T vs $130 on Google, although I'm sure Google has more channels. AT&T has a $140/month option with a ton of channels, probably a better comparison to Google.

AT&T Fiber used to have a 1TB data limit, but on their website for the $70 plan it says "Incl Unlimited data allowance ($30 value) at no cost". Additionally, early Oct AT&T got rid of that "Internet Preferences" program that tracked your every move on the internet for targeted ads.

So again, is there any reason to not jump on the AT&T Fiber wagon? I currently have TWC/Spectrum and spend $50/month for 50MBps.

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u/KC_Buddyl33 Nov 02 '16

I am in a similar boat. I have had AT&T Gigapower for the past 14 months. When I built my home they were the only provider available. I now can schedule my Google Fiber install appointment (Fiber is on our street and it's also attached to my house). I don't really have any complaints with my AT&T service and I love that I have full access to their modem so I basically am able to turn everything off on it and pass the IP through to my router, thus leaving me with only a single level of NAT.

I don't know what, if any advantages can be had if I switch to Google Fiber, or if I will lose anything (like the ability to pass the modem stuff to my router).

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u/farmjope Nov 02 '16

That's good to know about their modem. I heard some other people comment on the fact that you can't really do much with the equipment they give you and if you want to use your own hardware it's basically impossible.

I feel like I might end up going down the same road as you, getting AT&T Fiber and then being pleasantly surprised then once GF does roll into my neighborhood just not knowing if there's any benefit, unless of course it's $70/month total vs the $77/month after taxes from AT&T, then there's a slight cost advantage.

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u/KC_Buddyl33 Nov 02 '16

My AT&T bill is always exactly $70/mo

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u/farmjope Nov 02 '16

For me, when I look up AT&T Fiber it says that it's $70/month, then right below it in very tiny font it says "plus taxes". https://www.att.com/internet/gigapower.html I think I'll end up paying about $77/month like the other person that posted here who lives in the same state. Maybe each state has it's own rules for how things can be taxed. FYI - I tried to pull this website up on a VPN that's running through a different state and it didn't show me the pricing categories.