Following in the footsteps of Comcast and Verizon, telco AT&T on Monday announced it will offer customers a new security service, called AT&T Digital Life.

The offering, which will be rolled out this summer in Atlanta and Dallas, is similar to a recent move by Comcast Xfinity, in which the company already piping digital communications into customers’ homes takes advantage of that bandwidth to provide even more services.

The Digital Home package (not yet priced) also offers the ability for customers to remotely control their lights and thermostat through a smartphone or tablet, regardless of whether they use AT&T as a mobile carrier.

According to one analyst, 23 percent of U.S. homes have a security system in place. The market leader is ADT, though Comcast and Verizon are both ramping up their offerings.

As we’ve mentioned before, having a nationwide team of service techs who customers trust and are comfortable allowing in their homes for installations makes the security offering possible.

More: Comcast’s Army of Techs Makes Security Offering Possible.

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ABOUT Ian Stewart

Avatar photoIan is a veteran journalist who has covered sports for various news outlets. Previously, he was managing editor for an electronic-book publishing company and a public relations writer.