WASHINGTON, May 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of
AT&T1's ongoing efforts to provide an outstanding
experience for customers in Washington,
DC - including the 24 million annual visitors to the
National Mall - the company announced wireless and wired network
investments of more than $200 million
in the District of Columbia from
2013-2015. These investments drive a wide range of upgrades
to reliability, coverage, speed and overall performance for
residents and businesses. They also enhance critical services that
support public safety and first responders.
Citywide, from 2013-2015, the company made more than 230 network
upgrades, including adding new cell sites in the rapidly growing
NoMa, Shaw and Capital Riverfront neighborhoods. AT&T is
also placing additional emphasis on further bolstering network
coverage and capacity around the National Mall to support the
steady stream of major events taking place there.
By the 2017 Presidential Inauguration, the company will have
more than doubled wireless network capacity on the National Mall
over the past year. Permanent solutions already in place such
as antenna upgrades and cell site modifications will increase both
the volume and speed of mobile traffic carried on the
network. AT&T has also installed or upgraded more than 20
in-building systems in the area including in museums, government
buildings and key hotels and conference centers. These
investments will remain in place long after the Inaugural
festivities and will benefit residents and visitors for years to
come.
AT&T plans a number of temporary upgrades during the
Presidential Inauguration to help accommodate significant
crowds. These include deploying up to 6 temporary cell sites,
known as "Cell on Wheels" or "COWs" along the Mall and parade
route. These COWs will feature some of the highest
capacity antennas in our fleet –– including the Giant Eyeball
Antenna (also known as the Luneburg Lens Antenna).
The 3-D shape of the Giant Eyeball Antenna allows our engineers
to distribute data traffic based on the data consumption of the
crowd. The shape allows 18 beams of radio frequencies to better
cover the crowd, providing the best possible customer experience.
In fact, the Giant Eyeball Antenna was deployed for the first
time in DC at this year's Cherry Blossom Festival as test run for
the Presidential Inauguration and carried more than 2.1 TB of
mobile data. That's equal to more than 6 million Cherry Blossom selfies!
"We're committed to providing our customers fast, reliable,
highly secure connectivity. We want them to be able to access the
Internet at any moment, from almost any device and anywhere," said
Denis Dunn, President of AT&T
Maryland AT&T. "Our continued investment in DC brings a host of
new, innovative opportunities for residents and businesses."
In 2016, for the second year in a row, FORTUNE magazine
recognized AT&T as the Most Admired Telecommunications Company
in the world. We also placed #48 among the Top 50 World's Most
Admired companies. This is our third year in a row on the Top 50
list – AT&T is the only communications company on the list. We
ranked #1 in all 9 attributes. This included innovation, financial
soundness and quality of products/services. FORTUNE's Most Admired
Companies lists are among the most highly respected indicators of
corporate performance and reputation.
AT&T has more big plans for 2016. We'll be giving you the
ability to access and stream DIRECTV video services over a wired or
wireless Internet connection from any provider and from virtually
any device – smartphone, tablet, Smart TV, streaming media hardware
or PC. We plan for each service to come with a set number of
simultaneous sessions. These services will not require annual
contracts, satellite dishes or set-top boxes.
We have an extensive Wi-Fi network with more than 40,000
AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots at popular restaurants, hotels, bookstores
and retailers. We provide access to Wi-Fi at more than 1 million
Hot Spots around the world. Most AT&T smartphone and home
Internet customers get access to our entire national Wi-Fi network
at no additional cost. Wi-Fi usage doesn't count towards customers'
monthly wireless data plans.2
To learn more about our coverage Washington, DC 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.
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, mobile, high speed Internet and voice
services. We're the world's largest provider of pay TV. We have TV
customers in the U.S. and 11 Latin American countries. We offer the
best global coverage of any U.S. wireless provider.* And we help
businesses worldwide serve their customers better with our mobility
and highly secure cloud solutions.
Additional information about AT&T products and services is
available at http://about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at
@ATT, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att and YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/att.
© 2016 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.
*Global coverage claim based on offering discounted voice and
data roaming; LTE roaming; voice roaming; and world-capable
smartphone and tablets in more countries than any other U.S. based
carrier. International service required. Coverage not
available in all areas. Coverage may vary per country and be
limited/restricted in some countries.
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 A Wi-Fi enabled device required. Other
restrictions apply. See attwifi.com for details and
locations.
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SOURCE AT&T Inc.