AT&T's Investment In St. Louis Pays Off In Improved Voice And Data Performance

ST. LOUIS, May 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T* continues to drive investment and innovation to improve voice and data performance on our network. Those investments are paying off in strong service performance, including keeping more than 99 percent of all St. Louis-area wireless calls connected.

AT&T has invested more than $2.1 billion from 2008 through 2011 in its St. Louis wireline and wireless networks as part of our drive to deliver the nation's best mobile Internet experience:

• We've made more than 1,000 network upgrades since January 1, 2011, including:
  • Activating nine new cell sites or towers to help improve network coverage.
  • Deploying faster fiber-optic connections to more than 500 cell sites. Combined with HSPA+ technology, these deployments enable 4G speeds.**
  • Adding capacity or an extra layer of frequency to cell sites – like adding lanes to a highway – with the addition of nearly 500 layers, or "carriers."
  • Launching AT&T's 4G LTE  network, which allows customers to stream, download, upload and game faster than ever before
  • Investing in a new Distributed Antenna System (DAS) at Busch Stadium to increase capacity for densely populated areas during baseball games and concerts.

CNN Money recently recognized AT&T for enhancing its wireless network. Last year, AT&T completed 150,000 network enhancements across the country, more than triple the year before, giving customers more capacity and faster speeds, as well as improving call retention.

"Staying connected is vital for my business—allowing me to manage schedules and inventory as well as keep in contact with my staff, no matter where I am," said Brian Pelletier, owner of Kakao Chocolate in St. Louis. "I trust AT&T's network to keep me connected, so my business can continue to grow."

"In St. Louis we have worked hard to keep more than 99 percent of calls on the AT&T network connected—and we're not stopping there," said Nancy Garvey, AT&T's vice president and general manager for the Greater Midwest Region. "We are always striving to provide the most reliable network possible, and with the launch of 4G LTE in St. Louis, we are improving both speed and accessibility."

"We constantly strive to meet consumer demands for faster, more reliable service, and over the past four years we have invested heavily to ensure the best experience for our customers," said John Sondag, president of AT&T Missouri. "While consumer demands are driving our need to invest, good policy decisions by our legislature have enabled us to make these investments in new technologies and upgraded service."

AT&T's National Network Investment

Over the past five years, AT&T has invested more than $115 billion into our operations and into acquiring spectrum and other assets that have enhanced our wireless and wired networks.  Mobile data traffic on our network grew more than 20,000 percent in the last five years, and it more than doubled in 2011 alone. The download speeds available on our 4G LTE network today are more than 50x faster than our 2G network five years ago. We ended 2011 with 80 percent of our mobile data traffic running on our advanced 4G network.

AT&T's WiFi Capacity

Connections on the AT&T WiFi network continue to skyrocket as more and more consumers log-on from smartphones, tablets and other devices. AT&T customers can connect to the nation's largest Wi-Fi network*** with nearly 30,000 AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots and growing. To date, AT&T has launched free Wi-Fi at more than 290 locations in St. Louis. AT&T continues to deploy free Wi-Fi hotzones to provide convenient connectivity for AT&T customers in high traffic areas.

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

*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.

**4G speeds not available everywhere.  Limited 4G LTE availability in select markets. Learn more at att.com/network.

*** Largest based on company branded and operated hotspots. Access includes AT&T Wi-Fi Basic.  A Wi-Fi enabled device required. Other restrictions apply. See www.attwifi.com for details and locations.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's largest 4G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries.  It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T │DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world.

Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com.  This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss. Or follow our news on Twitter at @ATT.

SOURCE AT&T Inc.