AUSTIN, Texas, June 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of
AT&T1's ongoing efforts to provide an outstanding
experience for customers, the company made wireless and wired
network investments of more than $550
million in Austin between
2013-2015.
These investments enhance reliability, coverage, speed and
overall performance for Austin
residents, visitors and businesses. They also bolster critical
services that support public safety and first responders. Wireless
network upgrades, new cell sites and high-speed internet are among
the many investments the company made in 2015 to keep Austinites
connected at home or on the go.
"We're committed to providing our Austin customers fast, reliable, highly secure
connectivity. We want them to access the Internet at any moment,
from almost any device and from anywhere," said Leslie Ward, vice president of legislative
affairs, AT&T. "Our continued investment in Austin brings a host of new, innovative
opportunities for residents and businesses."
"Austin has a strong,
vibrant economy and is a recognized leader in tech," said Texas
State Senator Kirk Watson. "Strong
investment in our communications infrastructure is key to our
continued growth in all areas. I appreciate AT&T's commitment
to this community as they continue to invest in a fast, reliable
network to ensure our businesses and residents have access to the
tools and technologies needed in today's fast-paced world and
economy."
The AT&T LTE network covers 365 million people in
North America. Key network
upgrades in Austin in 2015
include:
- The addition of Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) to
increase mobile broadband and Wi-Fi services. New DAS installations
increase coverage and capacity in areas traditional network
deployments may not be feasible.
- A number of LTE enhancements, enhancing capacity at
local campus and sports facilities.
- An expanded HD Voice network, which enables crystal
clear conversations while surfing the web at 4G LTE speeds.
- An expansion of the AT&T GigaPower
network to homes and businesses across the city. GigaPower is
currently available in homes, small businesses and more than 100
Austin area apartment
buildings.
AT&T also made a number of temporary network upgrades in
Austin to ensure fast, reliable
connections at popular Austin
music festivals and sporting events, which often spur spikes in
data usage with social posts and streaming video. These network
upgrades include deploying temporary cell sites, known as "Cell on
Wheels" or "COWs" in high traffic locations. COWs feature some of
the highest capacity antennas in our fleet – including the Giant
Eyeball Antenna (also known as the Luneburg Lens Antenna).
We offer Internet customers a great combination of speed and
price. AT&T high-speed Internet2 customers have
access to our entire national AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spot Network at no
additional charge3. We also offer our
award-winning DIRECTV® service to eligible locations.
Customers may be eligible for AT&T U-verse TV service, a
100% digital service available over our advanced network. In 2015,
Woman's Choice Awards® named AT&T U-verse "America's Most
Recommended Brand among women for Broadband, Television and Phone
Service."
AT&T GigaPower offers our fastest Internet speeds, up to
1Gbps4 over a 100% fiber network. Since its launch in
Austin in 2013, GigaPower now
reaches more than 1.6 million locations across 25 major metro
areas. We've announced plans to expand the availability of Internet
speeds up to 1Gbps to homes, apartments and small businesses in
parts of 31 additional cities across the U.S. – which will total at
least 56 metros served.
AT&T plans to continue rolling out our fastest Internet
services over a 100% fiber network to reach more than 14 million
additional residential and commercial locations.
We have big plans for 2016. We'll be giving you the ability to
access and stream DIRECTV video services over a wired or wireless
Internet connection from any provider and from virtually any device
– smartphone, tablet, Smart TV, streaming media hardware or
PC. We plan for each service to come with a set number of
simultaneous sessions. These services will not require annual
contracts, satellite dishes or set-top boxes.
We have an extensive Wi-Fi network with more than 40,000
AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots at popular restaurants, hotels, bookstores
and retailers. And we provide access to Wi-Fi at more 1 million
locations around the world. Most AT&T smartphone customers and
home Internet customers get access to our entire national Wi-Fi
network at no additional cost. Wi-Fi usage doesn't count towards
customers' monthly wireless data plans5.
To learn more about our coverage in Austin or anywhere in the U.S., visit the
AT&T Coverage Viewer. For updates on the AT&T wireless
network, please visit the AT&T network news page.
Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking
Statements
Information set forth in this news release
contains financial estimates and other forward- looking statements
that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may
differ materially. A discussion of factors that may affect future
results is contained in AT&T's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. AT&T disclaims any obligation to update or
revise statements contained in this news release based on new
information or otherwise.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps
millions around the globe connect with leading entertainment,
mobile, high speed Internet and voice services. We're the world's
largest provider of pay TV. We have TV customers in the U.S. and 11
Latin American countries. We offer the best global coverage of any
U.S. wireless provider. * And we help businesses worldwide serve
their customers better with our mobility and highly secure cloud
solutions.
Additional information about AT&T products and services is
available at http://about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at
@ATT, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att and YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/att.
© 2016 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved.
AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service
marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated
companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of
their respective owners.
*Global coverage claim based on offering discounted voice and
data roaming; LTE roaming; voice roaming; and world-capable
smartphone and tablets in more countries than any other U.S. based
carrier. International service required. Coverage not
available in all areas. Coverage may vary per country and be
limited/restricted in some countries.
To define a market, we rely on the Core Based Statistical Areas
(CBSA), as established by the United States Office of Management
and Budget. Minor differences, if any, between annual totals
reflect annual updating of market boundaries in our record
systems.
1 AT&T products and services are provided or
offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the
AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
2 Geographic and service restrictions apply to AT&T
U-verse services. Call or go to www.att.com/u-verse to see if you
qualify.
3 Access includes AT&T Wi-Fi Basic. Wi-Fi
enabled device required. Other restrictions apply. See
www.attwifi.com for details and locations.
4 Internet speed claims represent maximum network
service capability speeds. Actual customer speeds may vary based on
factors including site traffic, content provider server capacity,
internal network management factors, and device capabilities and
are not guaranteed. For more information, go to
att.com/speed101.
5 A Wi-Fi enabled device required. Other
restrictions apply. See attwifi.com for details and
locations.
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SOURCE AT&T Inc.