COLUMBIA, S.C., June 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- At
AT&T¹, we've invested nearly $825 million in our South Carolina wireless and wired networks
during 2016-2018. These investments boost reliability, coverage,
speed and overall performance for residents and businesses. We've
also improved critical services that support Public Safety and
first responders using the FirstNet communications platform. And,
we've helped meet the needs of customers in largely rural areas
through our participation in the FCC's Connect America Fund.
AT&T's wireless network covers more than 99% of all
Americans and has become the fastest wireless network in the
nation, according to the first quarter 2019 results from tests
taken with Speedtest® and analyzed by
Ookla®. 2
During 2016-2018, AT&T made the following investments in its
South Carolina wireless and wired
networks:
- Nearly $140 million in the
Charleston region,
- More than $175 million in the
Columbia region,
- Nearly $140 million in the
Upstate region, and
- Nearly $370 million across other
areas of the state.3
In 2018, AT&T made over 1,100 wireless network upgrades in
South Carolina. These include 3
new macro tower sites, 5 new in-building systems, 15 Fixed Wireless
Internet locations and more than 1,000 projects to increase network
capacity and speed.
"Robust communication networks are vital to the continued
economic success and growth of South
Carolina," said Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt. "Advanced broadband technology
drives the innovation and entrepreneurship that preserve existing
jobs and create new ones in today's global marketplace. This type
of investment keeps our state and citizens connected today, while
positioning us for success tomorrow."
"The opportunity to make and sustain investment like this speaks
to the importance of the work done by South Carolina local and state leaders to
build a public policy climate that encourages private investment in
advanced technology," said Jane
Sosebee, president of AT&T South Carolina.
By building out our 4G LTE network, we're boosting network
speeds and capacity, as we continue to expand the availability of
our network and upgrade our technology.
Additionally, for the 5th consecutive year we've landed
on Fortune magazine's list of the "World's Most
Admired" companies. It's also the 6th year in a row we've appeared
on the Global Top 50 list – no other telecom company made the Top
50.
Transforming Public Safety Communications
FirstNet is
Public Safety's dedicated, nationwide communications platform. It
is for all first responders – career and volunteer, urban or rural.
It's bringing public safety communications into the 21st century
with new, innovative capabilities, helping first responders connect
to the critical information they need – every day and in every
emergency.
Building upon our current and planned investments in
South Carolina, we continue to
extend the reach and increase the capacity of the FirstNet
communications platform:
- Deployed Band 14 spectrum in more than 600 markets nationwide,
including Anderson, Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Georgetown and Greenville. Band 14 is high-quality spectrum
provided by the First Responder Network Authority. Its signal
covers larger geographic areas with less infrastructure to better
support rural communities, and it can better reach in-building in
more urban areas as compared to higher-MHz spectrum.
- South Carolina first
responders enjoy the fastest overall experience on FirstNet,
compared to any commercial network in the nation, thanks to the
specialized capabilities enabled by the physically separate and
dedicated FirstNet network core, like always-on priority and
preemption.4
- Public safety agencies subscribed to FirstNet have 24/7 access
to a nationwide fleet of 75 deployable network assets. These assets
can either be deployed for planned events or called upon in
emergencies to help first responders stay connected and operate
faster, safer and more effectively when lives are on the line.
FirstNet is built with AT&T in a public-private partnership
with the First Responder Network Authority – an independent agency
within the federal government. This helps ensure that the FirstNet
communications platform and service offerings meet the short- and
long-term needs of the public safety community.
Our commitment to rural America
Through our
participation in the FCC's Connect America Fund universal service
program, AT&T has been helping to meet the connectivity needs
of customers in largely rural areas and to expand the opportunities
enabled by internet access. By the end of 2020, AT&T will have
used funds from this FCC program to help deploy, maintain and offer
internet access and voice services to more than 1.1 million mostly
rural homes and small business locations in FCC-identified areas.
By the end of 2018, we offered high-speed internet access to over
18,200 locations across South
Carolina in mostly rural areas through technologies like
Fixed Wireless Internet.
Our internet offerings
We
now market a 1
gigabit connection5 on our 100%
fiber network to more than 12 million locations
across 85 major metro areas nationwide. In the South Carolina area, we market our internet
service powered by AT&T Fiber SM to more
than 200,000 customer locations.
We plan to reach about 14 million locations across at least 85
metro areas by mid-2019 for consumers.
We are the largest U.S.-based provider of fiber for business
services. There are over 500,000 U.S. business buildings lit with
AT&T Fiber SM, and we're adding thousands more each
month.
Within those buildings, AT&T now enables high-speed fiber
connections to over 2.2 million U.S. business customer locations.
And if you count businesses near our fiber network, that number
quadruples. Nationwide, more than 8 million business customer
locations are on or within 1,000 feet of our fiber.6
To learn more about our wireless coverage in South Carolina, 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.
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 Based on analysis by
Ookla® of Speedtest Intelligence® data
average download speeds for Q1 2019. Ookla trademarks used under
license and reprinted with
permission.
3 Totals may
not agree due to rounding.
4 Based on
AT&T analysis of Ookla® Speedtest
Intelligence® nationwide data average download speeds
for Q1 2019. Ookla trademarks used under license and reprinted with
permission.
5 Actual customer speeds
may vary. Download speeds are typically up to 940Mbps due to
overhead capacity reserved to deliver the
data.
6 The over 2.2 million U.S.
business customer locations, which AT&T provides high-speed
fiber connections, is included within the 8M U.S. business customer locations on or within
1,000 feet of our fiber.
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 Communications
We help family, friends
and neighbors connect in meaningful ways every day. From the first
phone call 140+ years ago to mobile video streaming, we innovate to
improve lives. We have the nation's fastest wireless network.** And
according to America's biggest test, we have the nation's best
wireless network.*** We're building FirstNet just for first
responders and creating next-generation mobile 5G. With DIRECTV,
DIRECTV NOW and WatchTV, we deliver entertainment people love to
talk about. Our smart, highly secure solutions serve nearly 3
million global businesses – nearly all of the Fortune 1000. And
worldwide, our spirit of service drives employees to give back to
their communities.
AT&T Communications is part of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). Learn
more at att.com/CommunicationsNews.
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. Additional information about
AT&T products and services is available at about.att.com.
Follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at
facebook.com/att and on YouTube at youtube.com/att.
© 2019 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.
**Based on analysis by Ookla® of Speedtest
Intelligence® data average download speeds for Q1
2019.
***According to America's biggest test as announced by Global
Wireless Solutions last fall.
FirstNet® and the FirstNet logo are registered
trademarks of the First Responder Network Authority.
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.
From FORTUNE Magazine. 2019 Time Inc. FORTUNE© and The World's
Most Admired Companies® are registered trademarks of
Time Inc. and are used under License. FORTUNE and Time Inc. are not
affiliated with, and do not endorse products or services of,
AT&T.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/att-invests-nearly-825-million-over-3-year-period-to-boost-local-networks-in-south-carolina-300872407.html
SOURCE AT&T