AT&T is panning for broadband gold in Arizona, teaming with PRIME FiBER to expand fiber coverage
AT&T and PRIME FiBER are extending their open-access fiber partnership into Arizona, marking a significant milestone in their mission to expand high-speed internet access across underserved communities in the United States. Building on their collaboration in Florida, the new deployment will target the Sun City and Peoria communities in the greater Phoenix area.
The expansion reflects AT&T’s ongoing commitment to its converged growth strategy, which seeks to integrate wireless and wireline services and deliver next-generation broadband experiences to more U.S. households. Through this approach, AT&T continues to leverage strategic partnerships with third-party infrastructure providers to accelerate deployment without bearing the full burden of capital-intensive network builds.
PRIME FiBER, a wholesale open-access fiber provider established in late 2023 as the wholesale arm of NOVOS FiBER and backed by InLight Capital, will provide the infrastructure in Arizona. The company already plays a critical role in AT&T’s Florida fiber expansion, supporting deployments in Naples, Bonita Springs, Golden Gate and San Carlos Park. With this Arizona launch, PRIME FiBER deepens its role in helping AT&T close the digital divide and extend fiber connectivity to more Americans.
“This marks another milestone in our mission to expand high-quality fiber infrastructure,” said Andrew Snead, CEO of PRIME FiBER. “We are thrilled to strengthen our relationship with AT&T by extending our reach into two new markets in the greater Phoenix area.” He noted, as well, that its Florida build is “progressing well.”
The open-access model allows service providers like AT&T to deliver retail broadband services over third-party infrastructure, enabling faster rollout with lower capital expenditures. This model is increasingly being adopted in the U.S. as telcos look to scale their fiber footprint while minimizing cost and deployment time. For AT&T, this collaboration supports both its retail broadband ambitions and its broader goal of passing over 30 million locations with fiber by the end of 2025.
“We remain highly committed to our converged growth strategy driven by expanding our leading fiber footprint and building on the positive momentum with PRIME FiBER in Florida,” said Erin Scarborough, senior vice president of Consumer Product at AT&T. “We’re excited about this expansion in the great state of Arizona, and we will continue to work with service providers such as PRIME FiBER to accelerate our efforts to provide leading converged services to more homes.”
This expansion comes as AT&T continues to post strong results in its Consumer Wireline business. In its most recent earnings report, the company added 261,000 new AT&T Fiber customers, marking 21 consecutive quarters with more than 200,000 fiber net additions. Its fixed wireless broadband service, AT&T Internet Air, contributed another 181,000 net adds.
Revenue for the Consumer Wireline segment increased 5.1% year-over-year to $3.5 billion, while EBITDA grew by 18.6% to $1.3 billion. Average revenue per broadband user climbed 7.4% to $70.87, with fiber-specific ARPU rising 6.2%.
During its Q1 call with investors last week, CEO John Stankey highlighted the importance of partnerships like the one with PRIME FiBER in achieving the company’s long-term goals. “A little over three years ago, we set a target of passing over 30 million total locations with our fiber network by the end of 2025,” he said. “I’m proud to say that we expect to achieve that target before mid-year as we continue to ramp towards our objective of reaching 50 million-plus total locations with fiber by 2029.”
As remote work, digital services and smart home technologies continue to drive broadband demand, partnerships like the one between AT&T and PRIME FiBER offer a scalable blueprint for how service providers can meet rising expectations without overextending infrastructure budgets.
