ATHERTON, Calif., May 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atherton Fiber has launched into the San Mateo County, CA, market with a new approach to providing broadband service. Founded by a disgruntled former Comcast and AT&T customer, Atherton Fiber is finding receptive customers who are fed up with lower-than-advertised broadband speeds and famously poor customer service by offering symmetrical internet connectivity—the same speed uploading as well as downloading—starting at 500 megabits per second and going up from there—sometimes WAY up. Currently operating its network in Atherton and North Fair Oaks, the company plans to expand into Woodside, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and other California cities over the coming year.
“Broadband connectivity has changed people's expectations about what ‘fast’ means—what was amazing a couple of years ago is now annoyingly slow,” said Gerry Lawlor, chief executive officer at Atherton Fiber.” Our mission is to deliver the fastest broadband possible with the best customer service, period.”
Faster Uploads and Downloads
With its fiber-to-the-home network, Atherton Fiber offers 1-Gigabit symmetrical broadband service for $65 per month (and 500-megabit service for $55 per month) and expects to roll out 2.5-Gigabit symmetrical service later this year. In contrast, other providers offering 2-Gigabit service deliver asymmetrical service with much lower upload speeds.
According to one customer, “The bill is a good amount less than what we were paying Comcast each month, and for the first time I can have video calls with work from home without any connection problems.”
Ultimate Broadband Available
For high-income homes and businesses that want the ultimate in broadband connectivity, Atherton Fiber will deliver an unprecedented 10 Gigabits of symmetrical fiber service for a $10-$15,000 installation charge plus a $300 monthly fee via its Personal Fiber License service. The service guarantees an exclusive connection directly from the network hub to the customer premises on a lease-like arrangement that lasts 30 years.
Open Access Community Networks
Unlike most providers, Atherton Fiber allows other providers to access their fiber network so cities can deliver their own branded broadband services. This is a significant difference from the closed networks from AT&T and Comcast. The City of Atherton is providing an Open Access Network to its residents, and Atherton Fiber is in discussions with other cities about the potential for this type of network.
“In 2014 during my first term as Mayor of Atherton, the Atherton City Council created an IT Committee of knowledgeable, interested residents to determine how to best provide our residents with fast, reliable broadband service that would be community oriented,” said Rick DeGolia, Mayor of Atherton. “We repeatedly heard that the incumbent Internet providers were not meeting the needs of either the residents or of the town. After a thorough investigation, we decided to support the private company, Atherton Fiber, which was created by one of the committee members to deploy dark fiber throughout our town. Atherton Fiber is an open access network provider that offers residents a choice of multiple internet service providers who have access to their network.
“I am an Atherton Fiber customer,” DeGolia added, “and I am very happy with the service that I've received and with the speed that they have provided, which has eliminated delays and interruptions in the many Zoom meetings in which I participate.”
Bridging the Digital Divide
Atherton Fiber is also committed to bridging the Digital Divide by serving lower-income communities with free service. The company is already serving parts of North Fair Oaks with free, 1-Gigabit symmetrical fiber, compared with Comcast’s 100-megabits for downloads and 10 megabits for uploads. Atherton Fiber estimates that at least 5 percent of residents in each city will qualify for free service.
Atherton Fiber’s open access, community-driven approach is changing the game for homes and businesses while connecting disadvantaged residents with lightning-fast broadband.
About Atherton Fiber
A subsidiary of Open 5G, Atherton Fiber is a community-driven, open-access fiber optic network that delivers the fastest symmetrical Internet connections for next-generation service with unlimited capacity. Serving homes, schools and businesses, the company was founded by Atherton resident Mike Farmwald.
Media Contact:
Jennifer Spoerri, Account Director
Gallagher PR
jennifer@gallagherpr.com
(415) 577-0171
