AT&T Invests Nearly $140 Million in South Carolina Wireless and Wireline Networks in First Half of 2013

Investments Strengthen Nation’s Fastest and Most Reliable 4G LTE Network In First Six Months, Project Velocity IP Results in Enhanced Wireless Network Performance, Advanced Fiber-Optic Connectivity for More Than 250 South Carolina Businesses, and AT&T U-verse Services for More Than 21,100 Customer Locations

Columbia, South Carolina, August 19, 2013

Blazing speeds. Great reliability. Broad coverage. Excellent overall performance. That’s what South Carolina residents want from their mobile Internet, and it’s exactly what AT&T* is delivering with an array of network upgrades completed in the first half of 2013.

In the first half of 2013, AT&T invested nearly $140 million in its wireless and wired networks in South Carolina. The investments included deployment of new macro cell sites, small cells and Distributed Antenna Systems across the state as a part of AT&T’s Project Velocity IP, a three-year investment plan announced last fall to expand and enhance its IP broadband networks.  The company also expanded and enhanced its 4G LTE network, which provides ultra-fast mobile Internet speeds, and deployed new Wi-Fi hot spots.

“Expanding the availability of mobile Internet services across our state will help South Carolina’s citizens and businesses compete and thrive in a global marketplace,” said Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell. “These investments are laying the technological foundation for continued economic growth and for new services and applications that will impact our lives in many areas, including education, medicine and commerce.”

Project Velocity IP is also spurring the deployment of advanced fiber-optic connections to thousands of South Carolina businesses.  In just the first six months of 2013, more than 250 additional business customer locations in South Carolina – located in nine multi-tenant office buildings across the state – now have access to blazing-fast, reliable connections to Internet and cloud-based resources, which ride on the fiber network.

As part of Project VIP, AT&T also deployed advanced wired IP broadband connections for consumers, including AT&T U-verse® services for more than 21,100 customer locations in South Carolina, in just the first six months of 2013. AT&T U-verse is an integrated bundle of services delivered over AT&T’s advanced IP network that include AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet, AT&T U-verse TV and AT&T U-verse Voice. AT&T offers customers the freedom to watch hit TV shows virtually anywhere, extensive HD channels, competitive Internet speeds, flexible bundles and continued service innovation. AT&T was recently named Frost & Sullivan Video Company of the Year.

These investments help to ensure that South Carolina residents continue to receive the best possible experience over the AT&T network, whether at home, at work or on the go.  The great performance of AT&T’s 4G LTE network, the nation’s fastest and most reliable, continues to be validated:

• AT&T now has the most reliable 4G LTE network.  According to independent third-party data, AT&T has the highest success rate for delivering mobile content across nationwide 4G LTE networks.**
• Meanwhile, our 4G LTE service was recognized as having faster average download and upload speeds than any of our competitors in PCWorld/TechHive’s most recent 20-market speed tests – the second consecutive year that AT&T has ranked 1st overall.  PCWorld/TechHive also ranked AT&T’s as the fastest combination of 3G and 4G services in the 20 cities it tested.***
• And AT&T was named America’s fastest 4G LTE network in PC Magazine’s 2013 Fastest Mobile Networks 30-market study – sweeping the top rankings in all six U.S. regions from coast to coast: Northeast, Southeast, North-Central, South-Central, Northwest and Southwest.****

“No one understands better than AT&T that fast, reliable connectivity is essential to both quality of life and competitiveness at work,” said Pamela Lackey, president, AT&T South Carolina.  “That’s why we are working aggressively, through initiatives like Project Velocity IP, to ensure that South Carolina consumers and businesses remain at the leading edge of broadband services. While no one is doing more than AT&T to mobilize our customers’ world, it wouldn’t be possible without the forward-looking policies enacted by the state’s leaders over many years to encourage investment in advanced technologies.”

In addition, RootMetrics® has awarded AT&T 1st or tied for 1st for strongest overall call, text, and data performance in 66 of 125 national markets – including 3 of 3 in South Carolina, where AT&T was 1st in Charleston and tied for 1st in Columbia and Greenville – from January through June this year.*****

Highlights of network upgrades completed so far this year in South Carolina include:

• 4G LTE launches in Anderson, Dillon, Florence, Hilton Head-Bluffton and Orangeburg.

The 2013 year-to-date network investment builds on the more than $850 million that AT&T has invested in its South Carolina wireless and wired networks from 2010 through 2012.

AT&T 4G LTE is now available in multiple areas of the state, including Anderson, Charleston, Columbia, Dillon, Florence, Greenville, Hilton Head-Bluffton and Orangeburg. Nationwide, more than 225 million Americans have access to AT&T 4G LTE service.  By year-end 2013, AT&T expects to cover nearly 270 million people and 400 markets with its 4G LTE network.

For more information about AT&T’s coverage in South Carolina or anywhere in the United States, consumers can visit the AT&T Coverage Viewer.  For updates on the AT&T wireless network, please visit the AT&T network news page.

Geographic and service restrictions apply to AT&T U-verse services. Call or go to www.att.com/u-verse to see if you qualify.

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