AT&T brings 3G mobile broadband network to Florence

AT&T* announced Thursday the availability of its third generation (3G) mobile broadband network in Florence, opening the door to a new era of mobile services, devices and feature-rich audio and video content for customers in the area, according to a press release. 

The network extension is part of AT&T’s efforts to drive innovation and investment to deliver the benefits of smartphones and mobile broadband for customers. AT&T is committed to driving continual enhancement of network capabilities to meet these customers’ ever-growing mobile broadband needs.

“Demand for wireless bandwidth is growing, whether it’s for sharing video and photos with friends, watching a movie, checking the latest scores, or listening to music on a phone, netbook or other mobile devices on the go,” said Pamela Lackey, president, AT&T South Carolina. “As part of the Florence community, we’re always looking for new opportunities to provide enhanced coverage and our investment in the local wireless network is just one way to accomplish this.“

AT&T matches its network investment with unsurpassed choice in the range of devices, services and applications compatible with its 3G network – the nation’s fastest, according to independent testing.  AT&T offers a wide variety of devices from more than a dozen manufacturers, including handsets that are compatible with six different operating systems and five different e-mail applications. Our Media Mall 2.0 offers more than 90,000 content options, and customers can download additional applications over the Internet. Additionally, AT&T supports a community of more than 20,000 application developers via its devCentral portal.

Recently, AT&T announced plans to further upgrade its 3G network nationwide with HSPA 7.2 technology to deliver considerably faster mobile broadband speeds. The upgrades are planned to begin in the fourth quarter, with completion expected in 2011. Supporting this initiative is AT&T’s ongoing deployment of additional backhaul capacity to cell sites, which will support today’s unprecedented growth in mobile data traffic as well as the future demands of next-generation networks. 

“Our goal is to add 3G service in new areas throughout South Carolina and to boost network capacity where we already have this technology in place,” said Alison Hall, vice president and general manager, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets - Carolinas. “With this expansion, our customers can continue to ride the leading edge of mobile broadband with emerging devices and thousands of mobile applications.”

“A state-of-the-art communications network is important to the long-term economic prosperity of the Florence region,” said Rep. Phil Lowe, R-Florence, in the press release. “That is why the General Assembly has worked hard over many years to ensure that South Carolina remains a state where companies want to commit resources. I am pleased that AT&T is continuing to invest here and to bring advanced technology to all areas of the state.”

AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network is based on the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) family of technologies that includes GSM and UMTS, the most open and widely used wireless network platforms in the world. AT&T’s 3G network is available in more than 350 major metropolitan areas. AT&T also offers 3G data roaming in more than 100 countries, as well as voice calling in more than 215 countries.

For more information about AT&T’s 3G coverage in Florence or anywhere in the United States, consumers can visit http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/.  The online tool can measure the quality of coverage based on a street address, intersection, ZIP code or even a landmark.

For updates on the AT&T wireless network, please visit http://www.att.com/networknews.

Customers can learn more about network plans and AT&T services by visiting the AT&T retail store located at 3007 Radio Road in Florence.