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AT&T plans $19bn wireless network boost
29 January 2010
AT&T is responding to increased demand for its US wireless network — largely from iPhone usage — by committing $18 billion on network improvements
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Comment: AT&T’s network has been feeling the strain from all its iPhone users, as the popularity of the Apple device has opened up huge demand for data services. AT&T is struggling to keep up, and expected demand for the new iPad will put further pressures on the carrier.
AT&T is planning to spend $18 billion to boost its US networks, including spending twice as much on the wireless network as it did in 2009. The carrier has added new radio systems in New York City and San Francisco and is planning to build more cell towers in high-density areas, such as transport hubs.
In Manhattan particularly, the capacity will increase by a third by the end of the quarter, said John Stankey, CEO of AT&T’s operations division.
The company is planning to install new radio equipment at twice the rate it did last year and connect three times as many towers by high-speed fibre cable as it had in 2009.
AT&T, which already has exclusivity in the US for the Apple iPhone, has been selected by Apple as the carrier in the US for the iPad. The consumer electronics company is monitoring AT&T’s plans for improving its network. GTB