Between 2010 and 2012, AT&T (NYSE: T) says it poured more than $1.5 billion into its North Carolina networks, upgrading and adding wireless sites while also investing in traditional landlines.
Just last month, AT&T also announced plans to acquire Alltel’s wireless business, which has a considerable presence across the state.
Investments including adding or upgrading some 1,475 sites as the telecommunications firm expands its wireless broadband 4G LTE technology.
LTE stands for long-term evolution. 4G is the latest in digital technology and is being deployed by all the major wireless carriers in the U.S.
To improve backhaul of data transport, AT&T also said it is deplying Ethernet backbone connectivity at cellular tower sites and for other antenna systems.
“Across North Carolina, this robust investment in the AT&T wireless and wireline networks is important to spurring the economy and creating jobs. In our wireless world, mobile and broadband networks help create economic opportunities for health care, manufacturing, education, transportation and public safety and virtually every other economic sector,” said Venessa Harrison, AT&T’s Regional Vice President of External Affairs in North Carolina.
AT&T recently expanded 4G LTE access in several areas.
Last year, 4G LTE service was added in the Triangle as well as the Triad, Wilmington and Fayetteville.
Over the next three years, AT&T says it plans to add more density to its wireless networks with 10,000 macro sites, 1,000 distributed antenna systems for venues such as stadiums, and also deploy 40,000 “small cells.”
Small cells is an emerging technology through which carriers can make more use of wireless spectrum for handling the increasing amount of data over networks.
Cisco recently forecast a tremendous increase in mobile data worldwide over the next few years.
