AT&T Completes Network Upgrade to Significantly Boost 3G Capacity from Key West to Vero Beach

With more customers surfing the Internet, keeping up with social networking apps, and sharing video on their wireless devices today, the demand for more mobile bandwith is growing. That’s why AT&T* has substantially increased 3G capacity on hundreds of cell sites from Key West to Vero Beach. The project involved the addition of a third layer of capacity, or “third carrier,” to the AT&T 3G network – the first UMTS network upgrade of its kind to be completed by a wireless provider in the U.S.

AT&T announced in September it had added a third layer of capacity to its network from as far south as Key Biscayne to as far north as Sunrise. Since that time, the same upgrade has been completed from north of Sunrise to Vero Beach. AT&T also has added a second layer of capacity, or “second carrier,” to dozens of cell sites in Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin St. Lucie and Indian River counties. The increased capacity is targeted to support higher volumes of mobile broadband traffic and provide more consistent speeds during peak system usage.

“Our goal is pretty simple: We want you to have an extraordinary experience when you make a call, check e-mail, download a song or video, or surf the Internet on your AT&T device,” said Rich Guidotti, vice president and general manager, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets South Florida. “As part of the South Florida community, we’re always looking for new opportunities to provide enhanced coverage and our investment in the local wireless network is just one way to accomplish this."

In addition to capacity growth, AT&T this year has upgraded its UMTS switching center and activated 15 new cell sites in Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, St. Lucie, Okeechobee and Indian River counties. More sites are planned before end-of-year.

These network upgrades are one part of AT&T’s ongoing efforts to drive innovation by investing to deliver the benefits of smartphones and mobile broadband for customers. More smartphone customers have chosen AT&T over any U.S. competitor, resulting in wireless traffic on the AT&T network that has quadrupled over the past year.

AT&T plans to invest between $17 billion and $18 billion, with billions going toward wireless. From 2006 to 2008, AT&T’s total capital investment in its wireline and wireless networks in Florida was more than $3 billion. “Our mission is to connect people with their world, everywhere they live and work, and to do it better than anyone else,” said Marshall Criser, lll, AT&T president, Florida. “We view our ongoing investment in Florida as an investment in our customers.” For more information about AT&T’s coverage in South Florida or anywhere in the United States, consumers can visit http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/. The online tool can measure the quality of coverage based on a street address, intersection, ZIP code or even a landmark.

For updates on the AT&T wireless network, please visit www.att.com/networknews.