Salisbury’s Fibrant network now has tough competition for gigabit service in Salisbury.

AT&T on Monday rolled out one gigabit per second internet speeds in select Salisbury locations. Clemmons, Garner and Holly Springs were also part of the Monday announcement. Salisbury and other recently announced towns join 12 other North Carolina municipalities — including several of the state’s largest cities — that receive gigabit service from AT&T.

In a news release about the announcement, State Rep. Harry Warren, R-77, said, “I’m excited about this new development and appreciate AT&T’s continued investment in Rowan County.”

The company’s Regional Director of External Affairs Kathleen Evans called the announcement “one more milestone on the path to providing Salisbury-area consumers and small businesses access to life in the blazing fast lane.”

As an example of the speed, the company said GigaPower allows customers to download 25 songs in one second, a TV show in three seconds, or a high definition movie in less than 36 seconds.

AT&T’s price for one gigabit Internet service in Salisbury is $70 per month, according to Monday’s news release. The price is noticeably lower than Fibrant’s price for one gigabit speed — $105. However, an AT&T representative declined to comment on questions concerning Fibrant, which is owned by city government and has about 3,300 total customers.

In the news release, Evans only said: “We are excited about keeping up the pace as we expand and enhance the AT&T GigaPower network to more locations.” The company currently operates its GigaPower network in 18 cities.

AT&T said it would notify existing customers as the company’s GigaPower service becomes available. An AT&T representative used 60 Hill Street — near the Salisbury National Cemetery — as an example of a residential location where the company’s GigaPower service is currently available. The company wouldn’t provide specific zones where its service was currently available.

Like GigaPower, Fibrant isn’t available at all residential locations in Salisbury, including apartments.

The announcement by AT&T comes just two months after Fibrant announced it could offer 10 gigabit speeds. Catawba College was the first customer. After the announcement, Salisbury Director of Broadband and Infrastructure Services Kent Winrich said 10 gigabit speeds start at $1,500 for businesses and about $400 for residents. At the time, Fibrant had six residential customers and three businesses who purchased one gigabit speeds.

Customers who bundle GigaPower with AT&T’s U-Verse TV receive free HBO and high definition service for 36 months starting at $120 per month, according to the company’s Monday announcement.

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246.