Responding to what it says is growing customer demand and usage, AT&T is expanding both its fiber footprint and wireless networks in North Carolina.

“We’re keeping up with demand, in the Triangle and elsewhere, keeping our customers connected wherever they are,” a spokesperson tells WRAL TechWire.

The latest fiber expansion is in the Triad.

Earlier this week, AT&T Fiber – the name for its high-speed Internet and entertainment service – was launched in parts of Burlington as well as Stokesdale and Summerfield in the Triad. The network already is in parts of Greensboro and Winston-Salem.

“Our customers are increasingly interacting with their world in more data-intensive ways,” said Venessa Harrison, president of AT&T North Carolina, in a statement. “A growing number of people are streaming content directly from their devices, and interacting with family and friends through live videos. For these reasons, we’re continuing to expand the availability of our fastest internet speeds to more Triad area communities.”

The expansion reflects AT&T’s continued commitment to building a nation-wide fiber service network. The company plans to add 16 more metropolitan areas to 51 existing ones.

“We market our ultra-fast service to nearly 4 million customer locations, of which over 650,000 include apartments and condo units,” the spokesman says. “We plan to reach 12.5 million locations by mid-2019.”

Parts of Raleigh, the Triangle and Charlotte already have access.

More wireless capacity

AT&T has bumped up 4G wireless service as well, with more than 400 network upgrades having been made recently in the Triangle and Fayetteville areas. Across the state, some 1,500 upgrades were made.

“Data on our mobile network has increased about 250,000% since 2007, and the majority of that traffic is video,” the spokesperson notes. “We continue to evolve our services to give consumers what they want. That includes streaming entertainment such as DirecTV Now and unlimited wireless data packages.”

The upgrades also are designed to help lay the foundation for the implementation of faster “5G” services in the future, he added.

“We are increasing network speeds and capacity, as we continue to densify our wireless network through the deployment of small cells and the use of advanced network technologies like carrier aggregation,” he explained.