Astound Broadband has launched fixed wireless access (FWA) service to provide broadband and Wi-Fi services to more than 26,000 homes in the northern California communities of Auburn Davis, Granite Bay, Lincoln, Newcastle, Penryn, and Roseville, all of which are in Yolo and Placer counties.
This is Astound Broadband’s first offering in the Davis market. Among the 26,000, Astound said its new fixed wireless network includes more than 2,000 homes in predominantly rural areas that, until now, did not have access to broadband and Wi-Fi.
The services became available earlier this week. Homes in the area now have access to the company’s Wi-Fi and data speeds up to 500 Mbps, the company said. The offering is priced at $40 per month with a three-year price guarantee. Data is unlimited and there are no contracts. It includes eero whole-home Wi-Fi equipment.
The Astound announcement said low-income families can apply for the company’s Internet First service. If eligible, these households can get 150 Mbps service for $19.95 per month, with three months free.
“Fixed wireless offerings are ideal for areas in Northern California, whether growing suburbs or rural towns, which have long endured lack of choice and slow connectivity speeds,” Astound Senior Vice President and General Manager of Broadband’s West Region Jared Sonne said in a prepared statement.
“Here and throughout the West Coast, our goal is to deliver a dependable service that supports remote work, online learning, telehealth, and everyday digital life.”
Telecompetitor spoke with Sonne in October about Astound’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program wins. The conversation touched on the potential Astound Broadband sees for fixed wireless.
“In our initial phase, 100% of the homes would be served using a fiber-to-the-home connection, where now the final applications are a hybrid of majority fiber-to-the-home and a minority of some sort of fixed wireless technology that is more economically feasible,” Sonne told Telecompetitor.
