AT&T's gigabit service officially available in Nashville

AT&T begins offering its gigabit Internet service on Monday, making it the first provider of the highest speed connection available to residential and small-business customers.

The GigaPower service will be available in areas in Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Lebanon and Clarksville. Prices range from $120 per month for the highest possible speed Internet-only subscription to $180 per month for the company's U-Verse package including Internet, television and voice service.

With the launch of GigaPower, AT&T becomes the first provider to enter the Nashville market. The company boasted its ability to offer the service less than one year after the plan was announced. Comcast and Google are on the way as well.

Gigabit speed allows users to download 25 songs in less than a second, or load a high-definition movie in less than 36 seconds, according to an AT&T press release.

"We want Nashvillians to harness the power of ultra-fast Internet access in everything they do, from creating great music to pioneering health care innovations," said Joelle Phillips, president of AT&T Tennessee.

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean touted the GigaPower service in a news conference last week, saying he hoped the service boosts the city's already growing technology sector. Nashville is the 13th city to offer the GigaPower service.

"Today's launch of AT&T GigaPower takes the idea of being connected in Nashville to the next level, as we are now connected at gigabit speed," Dean said in a press statement.

Prices for the service vary based on Internet speeds. Interested customers can check availability at www.att.com/gigapower.

Reach Nate Rau at 615-259-8094 and on Twitter @tnnaterau.