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Wells Fargo: AT&T Fiber Expansion to Fuel DirecTV Now

AT&T fiber expansion seems timed to support DirecTV Now, the telco’s over-the-top streaming TV service launching later this year, wrote Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche in a Wednesday note to investors. AT&T plans to bring 1 Gbps fiber service to…

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11 new metropolitan areas as part of a new umbrella brand, AT&T Fiber, the company said in a Tuesday news release. They are: Gainesville and Panama City, Florida; Columbus, Georgia; Central Kentucky; Lafayette, Louisiana; Biloxi-Gulfport and northeast Mississippi; Wilmington, North Carolina; Knoxville and southeastern Tennessee; and Corpus Christi, Texas. Including the new markets, AT&T plans to launch in 45 metro areas by the end of this year, it said. For AT&T, “the critical part of the bundle is wireless (where it has over 100MM subs) and the broadband pipe to the home (where users can use OTT video services),” wrote Fritzsche. “Ahead of the launch of these plans, there is a real incentive to illustrate to potential customers its commitment to spending on the broadband pipe.” Capturing the wireless and broadband user with one offering would mean stickier revenue for the company, she said.