AT&T* today announced it has added more capacity to its West Florida mobile broadband network to improve voice and data connectivity and performance for customers in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties. The upgrade involved adding new layers of frequency, also known as “carriers,” to 27 cell sites to more efficiently manage available spectrum and increase mobile broadband capacity.
The areas benefiting from the boost in capacity include Thonotosassa, Tampa, and Lutz in Hillsborough County; Largo, Belleair Bluffs and Clearwater in Pinellas County; Dade City, New Port Richey, Zephyrhills and Wesley Chapel in Pasco County; and Spring Hill in Hernando County.
“Our goal is pretty simple: we want you to have an extraordinary experience when you make a call, check e-mail, download a song or video, or surf the Internet on your AT&T device,” said Marshall Criser, III, AT&T president, Florida. “As part of the Tampa community, we’re always looking for new opportunities to provide an enhanced customer experience and our investment in the local wireless network is just one way to accomplish this.”
Year-to-date, in West Florida AT&T has increased capacity on approximately 140 cell sites in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, Sarasota, and Manatee counties; added a new Radio Network Controller in Tampa as part of its capacity upgrades; activated three new cell sites in Sarasota, Pasco and Hernando counties; and upgraded a cell site to mobile broadband service in Manatee County.
The West Florida upgrades are part of AT&T’s ongoing efforts to mobilize everything. From the start of the year through June 30, AT&T invested nearly $450 million in its wireline and wireless networks to continue improving service for Florida customers.
Wireless data traffic on the AT&T network grew more than 5,000 percent from 2007 through 2009, largely due to the increasing popularity of advanced smartphones and the performance of AT&T’s network. AT&T has the fastest mobile broadband network in the nation.
The expansion of mobile broadband service is one of many ongoing AT&T network initiatives. AT&T this year upgraded 3G cell sites nationwide to High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2. Future plans include another upgrade to HSPA+ technology followed by the initial deployment next year of LTE, the next-generation of wireless technology. These advancements, when combined with an ongoing initiative to increase the number of high-speed backhaul connections to cell sites, are a part of AT&T’s strategy to provide customers with an enhanced mobile broadband experience, both today and in the future.
For more information about AT&T’s coverage in the Tampa area or anywhere in the United States, consumers can visit the AT&T Coverage Viewer. Using the online tool, AT&T customers can measure coverage quality of coverage from a street address, intersection, ZIP code or even a landmark.
For updates on the AT&T wireless network, please visit the AT&T network news page.
