AT&T turned on its 4G LTE network in 12 cities across the United States Aug. 28.
“Broadband service is now a critical infrastructure and rural counties must have access to this technology,” said Kentucky State House Member Richard Heath (R-Mayfield).
The number of inhabitants in the cities in question ranges from just over 10,000 to nearly 600,000.
“Advanced technology like LTE will stimulate Tifton and Tift County’s economy and provide the new tools and services we need to compete for business,” said Brian Marlowe, president of the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce and the Tift County Development Authority.
The other cities are: Paducah, Ky.; Tupelo, Miss.; Tyler, Texas; Marshall, Texas; Stevens Point, Wis.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Springfield, Ohio; Moultrie, Ga.; Tifton, Ga.; Champaign, Ill.; and Corning, N.Y.
The demand for faster mobile Internet and better coverage has skyrocketed in these areas, AT&T representatives say. “Our 4G LTE network … responds to what customers want from their mobile experience—more, faster, reliably, on the best devices.”
AT&T’s 4G LTE network does rank fastest according to multiple speed-tests, such as PC Magazine’s 30 U.S. markets study.
Another study by research firm RootMetrics tested 4G speeds of AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile earlier this year and ranked AT&T first in 66 out of 125 markets. The 4G averaged download speeds of 18.6 Mbps and upload speeds of 9.0 Mbps. Verizon was second with average download speeds up 14.3 Mbps and upload speeds of 8.5 Mbps but was available in more areas at the time of publication, in March.
AT&T invested $22 million earlier this year in its wireless and wired networks in New York, adding to the $1.4 billion AT&T has invested in the area from 2010–2012. In the last five years, AT&T has invested nearly $98 billion in its networks across the nation.
AT&T also provides the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network, with more than 32,000 AT&T hot spots available in popular establishments and 402,000 hot spots globally.
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