Frontier Communications is bringing faster home broadband speeds to all customers in its service area. In a bid to compete against rivals, including AT&T with its recent hyper-gigabit service plans, Frontier is now deploying a new symmetrical 2Gbps fiber service.
Frontier notes that it is the first major internet service provider (ISP) to launch network-wide multi-gig fiber speeds while other providers are still deploying fiber to select residents living in very specific fiber footprints.
Frontier’s speed boost, however, won’t come cheap. Frontier is launching its symmetrical 2 Gig fiber plans at $149 per month, which comes with ” free next-gen total home Wi-Fi + free Amazon Fire TV + free webcam + free voice line + free activation + free premium tech support + free multi-device security,” according to the company. At a time when more people are embracing hybrid work, the faster speed is a welcome addition.
These speeds deliver 2.5 times less latency, which is good for working, learning, and staying entertained at home with high-bandwidth applications like gaming, streaming, and videoconferencing. With 2Gbps speeds, it takes just two minutes to download a 10GB game like Fortnite on your desktop and under two minutes to download to a high-resolution Blu-ray video with Dolby Audio, the company said. And with symmetrical speeds, the carrier boasted that the new plan is up to 50 times faster in upload speeds than competing cable networks.
“We’re thrilled to become the first and only major ISP to deliver networkwide 2 Gig internet service, as we unleash the power of our fiber network,” Frontier CEO and President Nick Jeffery exclaimed. “Today is proof that Frontier is doing what customers want and cable can’t – bringing faster speeds and greater value to consumers as we build Gigabit America.”
Compared to rival AT&T’s recent multi-gig plans, Frontier’s 2 gig pricing sits in the middle of AT&T’s comparable 2Gbps plan ($110)and the faster 5Gbps plan ($180). Google Fiber also offers a similar 2Gbps plan in very limited areas, and that service is the most affordable at just $100 per month. In addition to AT&T and Google, other providers, including Verizon and Comcast, also have gigabit or multi-gig broadband service in select areas.
To sweeten the deal, Frontier stated that the first 1,000 customers to sign up for or upgrade to the new multi-gig plan will get a 43-inch Amazon Fire TV and Logitech Webcam. The 2 Gig router, the company said, supports fast Wi-Fi 6E technology to unlock the speeds of your new broadband plan. All 2-gig customers will receive 24/7 customer support. The company promised 99.99% network reliability.
Frontier’s 2 Gig plan is launching now following the company’s announcement during its Investor Day in August that it will blanket its entire network with multi-gig speeds.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Google DeepMind's AI world model Genie 4 can now build interactive worlds that you can explore and reshape as they run. It also generates ambient sounds, music, and dialogue that respond to your actions.
The new world model builds on Genie 3 with improved realism, more natural human movement, and better simulations of real-world physics. It could eventually help with everything from game development to training robots.
Apple has an incredible talent for making me admire its products while simultaneously questioning what on earth it's thinking with the pricing. This isn't even something as bizarre as a monitor stand, but the audacity for starting a new laptop lineup from $2,000 doesn't surprise me.
The newly announced 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 is just the latest to showcase this. The funny thing is, I already know that it's going to be a reliable workstation. You get a powerful new 2nm M6 processor, a gorgeous Liquid Retina XDR display, and up to 24 hours of battery life. We were impressed by the M5 MacBook Air, so the high-end M6 powered MacBook Pro definitely won't let us down.