ATT FIBER CONNECTION QUESTIONS

When checking your address online, what is the best internet speed ATT offers?

For direct fiber would need to be 1000. The 320 gateway is only available for direct fiber 300, 500 or 1000 speed tiers requiring a tech install ($99) unless your address has ATT Direct Fiber pre exisiting (moving into a fiber address). The 320 has a build in ONT.

IF best speed offered is 25, 50, 75 or 100 this is FTTN or Fiber To The Node using last mile copper. There is no ONT, instead have a VRAD (Video Ready Access Device) that was deployed from 2006 to end 2015 reaching 33 million addresses within then footprint. The VRAD has the fiber with cards (electric power meter on VRAD) with cross box for the copper phone connections used. 

There was fiber to the node while there were fiber lines in the poles installed and maintained originally by Winfirst, bought out Surewest, and then Consolidated Communications. They did and still deliver fiber speeds to existing copper customers where the drop lines are 100 to 200 feet to residences. I was told by an Att installer at my residence, that SureWest at the time, will have to allow ATT to lease the use of their lines and lose sole proprietorship and the line usage would open up, as there was plenty of bandwidth for more than one company usage of the fiber line. So two years ago, or so, Att pulley pulled installed up their own Fiber Lines on the same poles and installed the orange connection boxes at each branch off for residences. ATT sent ATT sales staff out, door to door, and even to my house pushing fiber but I knew at the Pace modems used at the time would fit in my Media Can where all my networking connects so I said NO. Now the price per month on my internet 24 which is not loner offered is 7 dollars less than the internet 75. I had checked before online availability of my address and fiber was offered in 3 tiers.  I check now and it is no longer available. So I called and did some screaming and was allowed to create a 48-hour ticket to explore what was really available to me. I could switch today to Comcast or Consolidated today. I checked that ticket today and the answer that was read to me was that construction would need to take place for me to have fiber and that would take 30 to 45 to explore and was to call back then to find out the results o that waste of time exploration. I still have a PacBell email address so that tells you how long I have been a Pacbell/ATT customer with Verizon the competitor hosting my email in their servers as is the case for all ATT customers. I have 3 cell phone lines, and two iPad lines, Internet, DirectTV (sat), and a landline with ATT answering service and I am ready to drop it all. My feeling is that ATT installed this fiber and could not obtain a BIG ENOUGH customer base to cover costs. So they made a Covid decision just don't take on new customers and leave the empty unused connection dormant. and one switching to Comcast is less they have to maintain with customer service and most customers will never question an availability answer of NO. Even though it was yes. So it makes no sense as Uverse customers who want more bandwidth can't get it. So I just got an email saying I should accept the above answer as a fix for my problems but in fact, maybe Comcast has a way better fix and better customer service, than speaking to a person on a terminal in the Philippines who has no answers and has to create a ticket and cannot even give me the dimensions of a BGW320.

I said ATT had no fiber lines at the time Winfirst installed the ones on the poles in my area. ATT in my area was not willing to install fiber on the poles because it cost too much to maintain until they could no longer compete with copper's slowness with Comcast and Consolidated Communications (the final and current original fiber line-owner) So they did Fttn first which was not fast enough. So then pole fiber not to the residences because they decided not to use the original Winfirst/Surewest/Consolidated lines that were already in place. So the bottom line, no pun intended, If I check my address for availability with Consolidated or Comcast I can have what I am willing to pay for Business and I am self-employed as an engineer or residential, but not so far with ATT.... as of this minute. The original Winfirst lines were only installed in two areas in Sacramento (Natomas and Arden Park Vista) years ago by this startup well before ATT started to do fiber,  Winfirst bailed out, Pacbell had fiber internet only in select densely populated cities years ago before the ATT Worldnet rename, but for Sacramento, Winfirst was the first to take a chance and they failed and had to bail and this was in the late 1990s which more than 20 years ago in the AOL days.

Finally, I presented old history here and nobody cares, and what direction ATT is pursuing in a Covid situation. Att no longer cares about you as a customer, millennial or not!! Staff cutbacks, call centers, the Fing terminal screen answers from another country that is staffed by people who only use prepaid cell phones and has no idea what goes on in the US, nobody willing to question when they are being abused is the way of the world. When you have one of the biggest customer bases and their own installers quote their doctrine (which is what is only good for them if makes them more money) without question is the way of the world now. ATT wonders why customers are choosing the competition rather than being loyal? The corporate model is zero loyalty, to longtime employees, farm out customer service to call centers, and hire 3rd part contractors to do their daily work so they do not have to pay any benefits and continually raise prices to cover their bloated overpaid CEO base. Att will pull my comments down as they do not want their customers to know the truth, and they will not defend or make excuses for their actions, they will just hide the truth, with deletion.

Let's make it simple. What speeds do you get when you check your address using this link: https://ww.att.com/availability

AT&T can not reuse another company's fiber.

Here is a image with the size specs for a BGW320 for your reference.

Dave

Thanks for the dimensions Dave. Your link was bad BTW. I had to use this link:

Internet Details Page (att.com)

I have the discontinued Internet 24 at 70.00 per month The plans available are Vdsl2 at 25 50 and 75. Although my address check 1 years ago it was 300 500 1000 fiber now not available when checked. This is what is available to me.

https://www.amazon.com/802-11a-Wireless-ax-Integrated-Residential-Replaces/dp/B08PCRYJPW

https://www.consolidated.com/offer/ca-be-more-fiber?gclid=CjwKCAjwyvaJBhBpEiwA8d38vL7xaRYFCckansFAsjr7u5Y4cS0iqUI6BUxs_1GtfsQl0JAAJP_ipxoC7ScQAvD_BwE

https://www.xfinity.com/learn/internet-service/deals?cjevent=3b33afdf13d811ec809a01ce0a1c0e14&cmp=aff__8626045

ATT has fiber lines on the pole installed 2 years ago and they will not offer me a plan to connect.

Fiber Port on the Pole in front of my house | AT&T Community Forums (att.com)

https://forums.att.com/conversations/att-fiber-ordering/only-house-on-the-street-that-cannot-get-fiber/5defe3fdbad5f2f6063830e3

https://forums.att.com/conversations/att-fiber-ordering/fiber-internet/5df02792bad5f2f606b0ff7d

There are 100's of examples of this on this forum these 3 are just a sample of a lack of knowledge of what equipment ATT has existing and a lack of knowledgeable phone customer service. Dave, you have provided me better service than I have ever received on the phone or by chat online.

Not unusual for att to run fiber through an area and then not turn it on. Could have been budget cuts, not able to put needed equipment in the CO. Bottom line, if you can better speeds and cost with another ISP, just switch ISP’s. 

This is a customer to customer forum. No one from att monitors it. 

Here is a Pic of the delivery pole at the back of my yard, there is a 100-foot drop line for power and ATT copper to the face of the house from the pole. 1080 is my address on the orange metal card. The person just behind me has internet provided by  Consolidated Communication Fiber off the same pole.

The orange metal card just tells the techs where the terminal is. Doesn’t mean service is available for that address. Your wasting your time here if you think att will turn on service to your home. Lots of deployed fiber in the att world that isn’t active.