I remember when the US government paid AT&T to get fiber to the curb of American homes.

Then AT&T didn't. And then the US sued AT&T to get the money back and into the hands of US Americans. Wireless internet is an end-around having to fulfill those promises of a wide bandwidth future. And here is the evidence for that.

Sounds like it's time for a municipal broadband solution. If AT&T doesn't want the business, fine. Let's not force them to take our money.

These predatory companies make such a huff, like an abusive partner storming out while shouting "you don't know what you're missing!"

We do know, and we'll be fine. 👋

… business customers can keep any device they purchased at no charge," AT&T said.

Gee how magnanimous (emphasis mine)

I don’t know if this AT&T service covered all of NY but for sake of my point I’m going to assume it covers most to all of NY. Obviously, not everyone would subscribe to AT&T either. I’m generalizing a bit to make a point.

There are approx 8.5 mil households in NY and 1.7 mil qualified for the previous affordable broadband law (couldn’t find an exact number for this current law).

If they charge $60 for the service that’s a potential total of $512,000,000 for NY.

If 1.7 mil get broadband for $15 that’s $25,500,000.

So AT&T is willing to give up a potential $487,000,00 from all other NY customers just to spite low income families.

Note: this is income before any AT&T expenses, just to be clear and fair.

Edit I was clear or the article wasn’t clear.

1. ATT is pulling 5G service from existing customers. They were given a 45 day window to find a new provider. I’m not talking about new construction.

2. they are not obligated to provide fiber at $15. Only broadband. I know there are still expenses with that, but there is much more broadband already available than fiber.

The US Government needs to stop dicking around with this neoliberal bullshit and just offer mobile and home Internet AS A UTILITY.

Use the existing USPS infrastructure and cut out all the bullshit ISPs and parasitical orgs that have been bloating themselves on taxpayers for decades, with zero improvements to users.

Bring back basic banking at USPS too.

Interesting, so it seems because ATT doesn't have fiber already setup in NY that they're pulling out. If more states did this, they probably wouldn't be able to handle pulling out, financially.

This is a good example of the "If you regulate/tax business, they'll just leave and you'll be sorry!" Ayn Rand fallacy.

All this means is that their business model was to gouge consumers, and being barred from gouging cheap internet for their poorest customers revealed that they were (and still are everywhere else) bad faith, dishonest, antisocial actors that have no interest in providing products and services for a reasonable margin.

Just as with any business that would exit a market, or billionaire that would leave the country to prevent taxation back into the commons that facilitated their wealth accumulation to begin with (a preliterate workforce, roads and utilities they disproportionately degrade with heavy use, etc) you demonstrate that you work against your own customers and your own people, so by all means, gtfo.

"AT&T's shitty business model can't provide quality service in NY, so they gave up."

popcorn

Don't mind me, just reading comments on my €10, 1gbps mobile connection in the train home from work.

I'm sure there will be a federal giveaway of money for internet providers to expand their networks to rural users to solve this problem....and they totally won't just keep the money, give ti to executives as bonuses, and refuse to do the work or anyhting.

I'm gonna put it this way: In an apartment complex I used to live in, AT&T service was terrible while Sprint (still a thing at the time) and Tmobile had okay service, and Verizon had great service.

One of my neighbors there was literally worked for AT&T as a telcom engineer or something, and was as such eligible to get free cell service from AT&T.

He paid the hundred bucks or whatever at the time for Verizon, instead of the literally free service he could get from his employer, because it was so terrible. Good riddance.

I don't see what the issue is here. They don't want to be treated as a utility, but if they stay in New York, they'll be regulated as a utility. They've dealt with it as a phone provider, and choose not to engage in the regulatory environment being put in front of them. It's a totally reasonable choice for a business to walk away from a market if the cost of doing business would exceed the profits made.

So, all those lines are leased to at&t by the state right? I feel like they could just revoke them and give everyone free Internet.

Looks like a monopoly to me. That’s practically admitting that they believe consumers don’t have sufficient choice, and they’d rather not compete.