At AT&T[i], we’ve invested nearly $20 million in our Fort Wayne area wireless and wired networks during 2014-2016. These investments enhance reliability, coverage, speed and overall performance for residents and businesses. They also improve critical services that support public safety and first responders.
In 2016, AT&T made more than 65 wireless network upgrades in the Fort Wayne area. These include boosting network capacity, and new wireless high-speed internet connections.
“Access to a strong wireless infrastructure is critical to the economic growth of our region. It is crucial that companies invest through thoughtful innovation,” said Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership President and CEO John Sampson. “By investing in Fort Wayne, AT&T is making business growth possible. And, our residents will have the tools to stay connected and entertained.”
“AT&T continues to invest in Northeast Indiana in large part because our state has worked hard to develop a welcoming environment for such investments,” said State Rep. David Ober, who serves as chairman of the Indiana House of Representatives Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications Committee. “With the passage of SEA 213 this session, we’ve increased the likelihood of more positive news like this in the future, as communications companies will be able to bring new technologies, such as small cells, to the state even quicker.”
“We’re investing to provide faster, more reliable, highly secure connectivity. We want customers to have internet access at any moment, from almost any device—anywhere,” said Bill Soards, president of AT&T Indiana. “These continued investments, combined with strong leadership at the Statehouse, are bringing Fort Wayne area residents and businesses a host of new opportunities.”
The AT&T LTE network covers nearly 400 million people in North America.
The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) recently chose AT&T to build a nationwide public safety broadband network. The network will be dedicated to America’s police, firefighters, EMS personnel and other first responders when they need it. Should Indiana opt-in to the FirstNet network, we will build upon our current and planned investments with a dedicated focus on the state’s first responders.
And we would expect to make a significant investment to upgrade and maintain Indiana’s FirstNet network over the next 25 years, bringing your first responders the coverage, value and experience they expect.
For the third year in a row, FORTUNE magazine recognized AT&T as the Most Admired Telecommunications Company in the world in 2017. We also placed No. 37 among the Top 50 World’s Most Admired companies.
AT&T is the only telecommunications company on the list. We ranked No. 1 in all 9 attributes. This included innovation, financial soundness and quality of products/services.
We have the largest fiber network within our 21-state wireline footprint.2 We also now market a 1 gigabit connection3 on our 100% fiber network to 4.6 million locations across 52 major metro areas. We plan to reach at least 75 major metros overall. We expect to add 2 million locations in 2017, and we plan to reach at least 12.5 million locations by mid-2019.
We have an extensive Wi-Fi network with more than 40,000 AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots at popular restaurants, hotels, bookstores and retailers. And we provide access to Wi-Fi at more than 1 million locations around the world. Most AT&T smartphone and home internet customers get access to the entire national AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spot network.4 at no additional cost. Wi-Fi usage doesn’t count against customers’ monthly wireless data plans.
To learn more about our coverage in Indiana 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.
4 Wi-Fi enabled device required. Other restrictions apply. See www.attwifi.com for details and locations
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.
