AT&T, BlackRock to form commercial fiber-optic platform

Wireless carrier AT&T Inc and fund manager BlackRock Inc are forming a joint venture to operate a fiber-optic platform in the United States, the companies said on Friday. The venture, Gigapower LLC, plans to deploy its network to an initial 1.5 million customer locations outside of AT&T’s traditional 21-state wireline service presence, they said.

The companies said they would jointly own and govern Gigapower, but did not disclose additional deal terms.