AT&T marks 3G serving in region
AT&T formally announced Wednesday the availability of its third generation, or 3G, mobile broadband network in Farmington, opening the door to a new era of mobile services, devices and feature-rich audio and video content for customers in the area. The new technology will especially expand services in Farmington and north of the community, near Park Hills and Bonne Terre.
The celebration was held at the Farmington Chamber of Commerce office. Representatives of AT&T were on hand, along with members of the chamber and Missouri 3rd District Senator Kevin Engler, R-Farmington, and Missouri 106th District State Representative Dr. Steve Tilley.
The 3G network extension is part of AT&T’s ongoing efforts to drive innovation and investment to deliver the benefits of smartphones and mobile broadband for customers. AT&T is committed to driving continual enhancement of network capabilities to meet customers’ ever-growing mobile broadband needs.
“Demand for wireless bandwidth is growing, whether it’s for sharing video and photos with friends, watching a movie, checking the latest scores, or listening to music on a phone, netbook or other mobile devices on the go,” said Nancy Garvey, vice president and general manager Greater Midwest Region, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “With this expansion, our customers can continue to ride the leading edge of mobile broadband with emerging devices and thousands of mobile applications.”
Lonnie Emmons, area manager, gave a demonstration of new 3G services including video sharing for smart phones and high-speed wireless portable computer access. He said AT&T has invested $1.75 billion in new wireless technology in Missouri since 2006.
AT&T matches its network investment with unsurpassed choice in the range of devices, services and applications compatible with its 3G network – the nation’s fastest, according to independent testing. AT&T offers a wide variety of devices from more than a dozen manufacturers, including handsets that are compatible with six different operating systems and five different e-mail applications. Our Media Mall 2.0 offers more than 90,000 content options, and customers can download additional applications over the Internet. Additionally, AT&T supports a community of more than 20,000 application developers via its devCentral portal.
Recently AT&T announced plans to further upgrade its 3G network nationwide with HSPA 7.2 technology to deliver considerably faster mobile broadband speeds. The upgrades are planned to begin in the fourth quarter, with completion expected in 2011. Supporting this initiative is AT&T’s ongoing deployment of additional backhaul capacity to cell sites, which will support today’s unprecedented growth in mobile data traffic as well as the future demands of next-generation networks.
Farmington Chamber of Commerce President Executive Director Ursula Kthiri praised local legislators for their efforts in Jefferson City that encouraged investment in the 3G wireless technology. “We really are grateful to state Senator Kevin Engler and state Representative Steven Tilley for their efforts in continuing to bring new technology to us in Farmington. New investment in technology by AT&T is critical infrastructure for us to remain competitive in a global economy.”
“When businesses look to expand or relocate, it is crucial that Farmington is able to offer them technology and services that rival those found in our state’s biggest cities. The investment in a stronger wireless network for St. Francois County will help attract business and strengthen our local economy,” said Sen. Engler.
AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network is based on the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) family of technologies that includes GSM and UMTS, the most open and widely used wireless network platforms in the world. AT&T’s 3G network is available in more than 350 major metropolitan areas. AT&T also offers 3G data roaming in more than 100 countries, as well as voice calling in more than 215 countries.
