COLUMBIA, S.C., Aug. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- At AT&T1, we've invested nearly $750 million in our South Carolina wireless and wired networks during 2015-2017. These investments boost reliability, coverage, speed and overall performance for residents and businesses. They also improve critical services that support public safety and first responders.
AT&T's investments in its wireless and wired networks in South Carolina during 2015-2017 include:
- More than $130 million in the Charleston area,
- More than $150 million in the Columbia area, and
- Nearly $130 million in the Upstate region.
In 2017 alone, AT&T made over 1,400 wireless network upgrades in South Carolina. We added 8 new cell sites, over 900 network capacity additions, and 57 new wireless high-speed Internet connection locations.
"AT&T has been a tremendous asset to our state for a long time and has shown its willingness to invest in our communities and the people of South Carolina," said Gov. Henry McMaster. "Those investments drive innovation and entrepreneurship, which helps to maintain the competitive edge that has resulted in unprecedented economic successes and ever-increasing opportunities for South Carolinians."
"Today, more than ever, life is about connections and the opportunities they create," said Ted Creech, director of external affairs for AT&T South Carolina. "We are investing in the advanced communications networks of the future that will ultimately create a world of new economic growth while delivering information and entertainment in new and exciting ways."
The AT&T LTE network now covers more than 400 million people in North America. By building out our 4G LTE network, we're laying the foundation for 5G, the next advance in network technologies. We're boosting network speeds and capacity, as we continue to expand the availability of our network using the latest technology.
Since the formation of the FirstNet public-private partnership a little over a year ago, governors from all 50 states, 5 territories and D.C. recognized the value of FirstNet, joining in its mission to strengthen and modernize public safety's communications capabilities.
FirstNet is a new nationwide communications platform dedicated to America's public safety community. As we build, deploy and evolve FirstNet, we will build upon our current and planned investments in South Carolina to help ensure public safety's network delivers the coverage and cutting-edge capabilities first responders expect – today and for decades to come.
For the 4th year in a row, AT&T earned the top spot in the telecommunications industry on FORTUNE's Most Admired Companies list in 2018. We also placed No. 49 among the 50 most admired companies across all industries.
We were ranked first or second in all 9 attributes used to compile the list, including innovation, people management, quality of management, long-term investment value, quality of products/services and global competitiveness.
Our internet offerings
We continue to expand the scope of our ultra-fast internet powered by AT&T Fiber. We now market our ultra-fast internet service powered by AT&T Fiber to more than 150,000 customer locations in South Carolina.
We have the largest fiber network within our 21-state wireline footprint, including more than 1.4 million strand miles in South Carolina.2 And AT&T is the largest U.S.-based provider of fiber for business services, creating an unparalleled ability to serve businesses of all sizes.
We also now market a 1 gigabit connection3 on our 100% fiber network to 9 million locations across 71 major metro areas nationwide. We plan to reach at least 14 million locations across at least 84 metro areas by mid-2019 for consumers.
To learn more about our 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 publicly available data for the top fiber providers in the AT&T operating footprint.
3 Actual customer speeds may vary. Download speeds are typically up to 940Mbps due to overhead capacity reserved to deliver the data.
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, business, mobile and high speed internet services. We have the nation's largest and most reliable network** and the best global coverage of any U.S. wireless provider. We're one of the world's largest providers of pay TV. We have TV customers in the U.S. and 11 Latin American countries. More than 3 million companies, from small to large businesses around the globe, turn to AT&T for our highly secure smart solutions.
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.
© 2018 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.
**Coverage not avail. everywhere. Based on overall coverage in U.S. licensed/roaming areas. Reliability based on voice and data performance from independent 3rd party data.
From FORTUNE Magazine. 2018 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.
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SOURCE AT&T Inc.
