AT&T High-Speed Internet Service – Review

AT&T Internet Service – A Service Review

AT&T, a giant in its respective industries, provides various Internet services. Their high-speed Internet services come in many different plans to suit your budget and need for speed.

The service starts with the AT&T Internet 50 package which offers the speed of up to 50 Mbps, and it goes all the way up to AT&T Fiber℠ package (formerly GigaPower) with the speed of up to 1 Gbps. Yes, that is 1 gigabite per second, equaling to 1,000 Mbps or 1 million Kbps! Learn more about AT&T Fiber Internet.
Between these two high speed Internet packages, you’ll find many of which at least one has to fit the needs of any type of today’s Internet user.
All these packages come with the same set of AT&T features (explained below). From time to time, there are special discount offers available.

AT&T High Speed Internet Tiers

AT&T offers some of the fastest Internet connection types. In the past, DSL was the main way of connection, while it is now a sort of past, being replaced by U-verse and AT&T Fiber platforms. These days, AT&T’s Internet service starts with the Pro U-verse plan. This is the cheapest high-speed internet package among the many AT&T U-verse Internet packages, and is good for basic surfing, email functions and downloads of a small size. You only get one dynamic IP address for this package. Then, the packages go by AT&T Internet speed tiers, all the way to AT&T Fiber that allows up to 1 Gbps (where available).

Since the inception of the Internet, as the technology progressed, so did the speed of Internet connections. Residential connections started with dial-up, moved on over to DSL and Cable, and it’s now becoming common to use fiber optic based Internet. This is exactly what AT&T U-verse Internet is – an optical based network that serves speeds of up to 1 Gbps (gigabit per second). The U-verse Internet plans panel starts with the speed of up to 45 Mbps (Internet 45 plan). Then it moves up all the way to AT&T Fiber Internet. Here are the plans with their corresponding download speeds:

† Speed availability may vary depending on area of service.

If your Internet needs are very minimal, then you shouldn’t bother looking much into the packages other than AT&T Internet 50, because you’ll have access to all the features of AT&T Internet anyway. But if you have more Internet speed requirements, then check U-verse Internet line-up in order to choose the package that suits you (see the table above). Also, you can measure the speed of your current Internet connection before you decide which package would suit your needs the best.

Learn more about AT&T Internet Packages

AT&T High-Speed Features

There are quite a lot of features that AT&T is offering their users. For instance, you're given a pop-up blocker to get rid of those pesky pop-up windows from appearing while you're surfing.

Email services are also pretty tempting, because you get 2GB worth of storage (main account), with POP access, and email forwarding. In addition to that, you're also given up to 10 more email accounts, each with 250MB worth of storage! Your emails are also subject to SpamGuard's filtering function, which automatically filters spam into a separate folder.

Free Wi-Fi is certainly something every Internet user appreciates. As an AT&T high speed Internet service subscriber, you get an access to the AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spot network – nationwide.

If Wi-Fi is not an option, a useful feature available to all AT&T subscribers is free dial-up access when you travel. That’s unlimited Internet access wherever you go. It may not be as fast as your Internet back home, but it keeps you connected all the same.

By default, AT&T High-Speed Internet assigns you a dynamic IP address. This means that your IP address changes as per AT&T's DHCP settings. This is another security feature that keeps hackers from tracking you down. If you need a static IP address, you can request a block of static IPs from AT&T.

Another unique safety feature of AT&T is a software with parental controls, which allows parents to monitor their children's online activities. Firewall software also keeps your computer safe from viruses, while Anti-Spyware and Adware software keeps you safe from potential spyware and adware attacks.

Aside from these features, you're also given additional options, such as the AT&T Wireless Gateway, which allows you to share one high-speed connection with multiple users. You can connect computers or other internet-capable devices.

You also have the option to install the service yourself, so you save on installation costs, or have a technician do all the work for an additional fee. From time to time, AT&T may offer a free professional installation service if you order i.e., a U-verse bundle (TV+Internet for example).

A drawback for AT&T High-Speed Internet services is that they may not be available in all areas. To find out if you can have their services installed in your home, go to their website and provide your telephone number (if AT&T customer), or enter your address.

Learn more about AT&T U-verse Internet Packages

AT&T High-Speed Internet Requirements

If you have finally decided to get high-speed internet installed in your home, make sure that you reach the following requirements:

• Wi-Fi gateway – The central device for receiving your AT&T Internet or U-verse service (provided). With Wi-Fi home networking capability, Ethernet, or a USB connection, your home computers can securely share your high-speed Internet connection.
• DSL line filters for all phone devices on your DSL phone number (needed for traditional home phone service).
• Computer system meeting minimum requirements.

Minimum computer requirements:

• Windows users Processor Speed: 300 MHz or faster for XP, 800 MHz or faster for Vista, 1 GHz or faster for Windows 7/8/10
• Macintosh users: Macintosh OS 10.3 and above – as per OS specs
• CD-ROM or DVD drive
• 125 MB of free disk space for Windows users, and 100 MB of free disk space for Mac users
• At least 128MB RAM, depending on the OS
• Available Ethernet Port and/or Wireless connection
• For speeds 100 Mbps and above (up to 1Gbps), network card/connection should be Gigabit Ethernet in order to get the full benefits of your Internet connection speed.

For higher speeds, check AT&T U-verse Internet service.

Check the latest AT&T U-verse Promo Offers