AT&T Touts Indiana Investments
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is highlighting more than $325 million it has pumped into network upgrades throughout the state during the first half of the year. The improvements include new cell sites, broadband enhancements and fiber-optic connections for businesses. August 8, 2013
News Release
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Blazing speeds. Great reliability. Broad coverage. Excellent overall performance. That's what Indiana residents want from their mobile Internet, and it's exactly what AT&T is delivering with an array of network upgrades completed in the first half of 2013.
In the first half of 2013, AT&T invested more than $325 million in its wireless and wired networks in Indiana. The investments included deployment of new macro cell sites, small cells and Distributed Antenna Systems across the state as a part of AT&T's Project Velocity IP, a three-year investment plan announced last fall to expand and enhance its IP broadband networks. The company also expanded and enhanced its 4G LTE network, which provides ultra-fast mobile Internet speeds, and deployed new Wi-Fi hot spots.
Project Velocity IP is also spurring the deployment of advanced fiber-optic connections to thousands of Indiana businesses. In just the first six months of 2013, more than 1,300 additional business customer locations in Indiana – located in 60 multi-tenant office buildings across the state – now have access to blazing-fast, reliable connections to Internet and cloud-based resources, which ride on the fiber network.
As part of Project VIP, AT&T also deployed advanced wired IP broadband connections for consumers, including AT&T U-verse services for more than 18,000 customer locations in Indiana, in just the first six months of 2013. AT&T U-verse is an integrated bundle of services delivered over AT&T’s advanced IP network that include AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet, AT&T U-verse TV and AT&T U-verse Voice. AT&T offers customers the freedom to watch hit TV shows virtually anywhere, extensive HD channels, competitive Internet speeds, flexible bundles and continued service innovation. AT&T was recently named Frost & Sullivan Video Company of the Year.
These investments help to ensure that Indiana residents continue to receive the best possible experience over the AT&T network, whether at home, at work or on the go. The great performance of AT&T’s 4G LTE network, now the nation’s fastest and most reliable, continues to be validated:
-AT&T now has the most reliable 4G LTE network. According to independent third-party data, AT&T has the highest success rate for delivering mobile content across nationwide 4G LTE networks.
-Meanwhile, our 4G LTE service was recognized as having faster average download and upload speeds than any of our competitors in PCWorld/TechHive’s most recent 20-market speed tests – the second consecutive year that AT&T has ranked 1st overall. PCWorld/TechHive also ranked AT&T’s as the fastest combination of 3G and 4G services in the 20 cities it tested.
-And AT&T was named America’s fastest 4G LTE network in PC Magazine’s 2013 Fastest Mobile Networks 30-market study – sweeping the top rankings in all six U.S. regions from coast to coast: Northeast, Southeast, North-Central, South-Central, Northwest and Southwest.
“Fast, reliable connectivity is essential to both quality of life and competitiveness at work,” said George S. Fleetwood, president of AT&T Indiana. “No one understands that better than we do, and no one is doing more than AT&T to mobilize a world that works for Hoosiers. We appreciate the leadership shown by the Indiana General Assembly to build an environment here that encourages investment in the telecommunications technology and networks that Hoosiers are demanding. That is why with initiatives like Project Velocity IP, we're working to ensure that consumers and businesses remain at the leading edge of broadband services.”
Highlights of network upgrades completed during the first half of 2013 in Indiana include:
-AT&T launched 4G LTE in Columbus, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Kokomo and Seymour.
-AT&T upgraded additional cell sites to 4G LTE including the communities of Bloomington, Brownstown, Cedar Lake, Chesterton, Corydon, Crown Point, Georgetown, Greenville, Griffith, Hebron, Hobart, Indianapolis, Lake Station, Lowell, Merrillville, Munster, Plainfield, Portage, Shelbyville, Schererville, South Bend, South Haven, Taylorsville and Valparaiso, among others.
-Expansion of AT&T’s mobile internet network in several communities including Augusta, Brookville, Butler, Churubusco, Connersville, Corunna, English, Hamilton, Hartford City, Kendallville, LaGrange, Leopold, Liberty, Lynn, Montpelier, Otwell, Petersburg, Plainville, Portland, Redkey, Rockville, Rushville, Sandborn, Shamrock Lakes, Shipshewana, St. Joe, Topeka, Union, Upland, Versailles, Winslow and Wolcottville.
-AT&T added more wireless network capacity in the counties of Bartholomew, Elkhart, Hamilton, Hancock, Harrison, Hendricks, Johnson, Marion, Monroe, Morgan, Pike and Tippecanoe.
-AT&T activated new cell sites in Monroe, Rush, Shelby, Johnson, Brown, Wells and Martin counties.
“AT&T’s network investment supports Indiana’s economic health and our residents’ ability to succeed at work and at home,” said State Representative Charlie Brown. “At a time when a growing number of Hoosiers rely on their wireless devices for many parts of their daily lives, the expansion of mobile internet service helps to ensure that people across the state have access to the latest online services and applications.”
The 2013 year-to-date network investment builds on the more than $1.3 billion that AT&T has invested in its Indiana wireless and wired networks from 2010 through 2012.
AT&T 4G LTE is now available in multiple areas of the state. Prior to this year, AT&T 4G LTE was also launched in Bloomington, Indianapolis, Gary, Lafayette, Muncie and the South Bend and Mishawaka areas. Nationwide, more than 225 million Americans have access to AT&T 4G LTE service. By year-end 2013, AT&T expects to cover nearly 270 million people and 400 markets with its 4G LTE network.
August 8, 2013
News Release
GARY, Ind. – State Representative Charlie Brown and Urban League of Northwest Indiana President and CEO Vanessa Allen today announced that the organization will receive a contribution of $10,000 from AT&T to support its efforts to increase high school graduation rates and prepare students for success in college and the workforce.
“The best investment any company can make is to invest in the future leaders of the communities it serves,” said Brown at the announcement event in Gary. “By enabling organizations like the Urban League to support our young people and provide the assistance they need at a local level to succeed in high school and beyond, companies like AT&T are reinforcing their commitment to Northwest Indiana and the work we are doing to grow our economy.”
The contribution will support the educational awareness of 500 high school students and their families in the areas of college readiness, career/job skills, college scholarships and academic preparation that would promote high school graduation, college entry, and student success.
“Having the support of our elected leaders like Rep. Brown, Senator Earline Rogers and Mayor Karen Freeman Wilson is critical to our ability to ensure that students in Northwest Indiana have the opportunity to develop and grow personally and professionally,” said Allen. “Building a stronger workforce is a team effort and we appreciate the investment in our community that AT&T has made to help this program become a success.”
The schools involved in this program include: Lake Ridge, Lew Wallace, Roosevelt, Merrillville, 21st Century Charter and Portage high schools.
“By promoting education, we’re building stronger communities,” said AT&T Indiana President George S. Fleetwood. “As a company that employs