BATON ROUGE, La., Sept. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T is
committed to widespread broadband deployment, including serving
those who live and work in hard-to-reach and remote areas.
Even with the latest technology, in some areas, broadband
deployment is not economically viable. To address that problem, in
late 2011, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) modernized
its Universal Service program to support networks capable of
providing broadband and voice services. It created the Connect
America Fund (CAF) to expand broadband in rural areas where market
forces and economics do not support expansion.
AT&T has elected to participate in the second phase of the
CAF program in Louisiana,
committing to deploy broadband to nearly 75,000 rural homes and
businesses. AT&T Louisiana will receive almost $28 million annually over the next six years, to
help meet the CAF commitment in the State.
"The new CAF funds, combined with AT&T's latest technology,
will help us significantly close the broadband Internet access gap
in our state," said Sonia Perez, President of AT&T
Louisiana. "It's very exciting."
"I am encouraged that AT&T is accepting these funds to bring
high speed internet services to rural Louisiana in areas currently not served as
well as those underserved by the current infrastructure," said
Clyde Holloway, Louisiana Public
Service Commission Chairman. "This build-out of technology may
be the game-changer needed for families and businesses in rural
Louisiana. We know the vital role
the internet plays in business, education, healthcare and other
essential services, so this news brings optimism. I look
forward to hearing more details in the coming weeks."
In these new deployment areas, AT&T will deliver broadband
at speeds of at least 10 Megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads
and 1 Mbps for uploads.
"We welcome AT&T's participation in the federal CAF program
and their continued commitment to providing broadband in rural
areas," said Jim Clinton, President
and CEO, Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance. "We are
grateful to Commissioner Holloway who is focused on improving the
economic vitality of rural Louisiana. This new capacity increases our
opportunities to market the central Louisiana region and the ability of existing
businesses to grow their service area."
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. In the U.S.,
our wireless network offers the nation's strongest LTE signal and
the most reliable 4G LTE network. We offer the best global wireless
coverage*. And we help businesses worldwide serve their customers
better with our mobility and 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.
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Reliability and signal strength claims based on nationwide
carriers' LTE. Signal strength claim based ONLY on avg. LTE signal
strength. LTE not available everywhere.
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SOURCE AT&T Inc.