Next week, AT&T will offer Internet Backup on its latest Fiber gateways. Anyone with AT&T Fiber and an eligible unlimited postpaid wireless plan can join.
AT&T’s new Internet Backup feature helps customers keep their internet connection active even during an outage with AT&T Fiber. This service uses the equipment customers already have and connects to a cellular network, so no extra devices or mobile plans are needed. You’ll get a notification in their app when your gateway is updated with the feature. It can also be turned on using the Smart Home Manager app.
Erin Scarborough, Senior Vice President of product management, confirmed that the company is “deploying the feature on existing devices at no extra cost.” However, it is still exclusive to those with AT&T’s postpaid unlimited data phone plans. So, if you phone is on Verizon or another carrier, you can’t try this out.
This comes after T-Mobile offered more data for its backup internet, so it looks like AT&T is responding with their own backup solution. While T-Mobile sends equipment (with an added fee) specifically for the backup, AT&T only needs the hotspot from the phone that has the backup enabled. This way, any interested users won’t need to buy new equipment or sign up for extra wireless plans, users just have to make sure they have an AT&T unlimited data plan. The company points out that many of its fiber customers also use its wireless services, so it may benefit users to bundle if they’re already using AT&T.
If your Fiber internet service goes down, the backup system will kick in automatically as long as your smartphone is near the gateway. This way, you’ll still have cellular service until the fiber is back up, and there are no extra charges or time limits. Once their fiber service is restored, it will switch back on its own.
Source: AT&T
