AT&T is expanding mobile broadband access and coverage in a 100-mile corridor stretching along U.S. 36 Highway from St. Joseph to east of Chillicothe.
Recent improvements will help ensure improved high-speed wireless connectivity for residents and businesses throughout Northwest Missouri.
Company officials say communications in rural America is changing. Land line telephone use is in decline, and fiber optic cables are expensive to install. AT&T is banking on wireless.
The company announced Friday it has expanded its mobile broadband coverage to allow 3G service along the highway 36..
The move will not improve coverage for cell phone calls, but will improve mobile data access in Buchanan, Clinton, DeKalb, Caldwell, Livingston and Linn counties.
Officials say about 10,000 vehicles use the highway corridor each day.
Access may vary the farther you are from US 36.
“We consider Missouri 36 ‘The Way of American Genius’ because of its historic ties to some of the most brilliant leaders and entrepreneurs in our nation’s history,” said Marci Bennett, executive director of the St. Joseph Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“AT&T’s investment in cutting-edge mobile broadband technology can only enhance the connection we are highlighting between the past and future economy of this part of Missouri.”
“Mobile broadband is important to farmers, businesses, healthcare providers, educators and even tourists,” said Senator Brad Lager.
“Today, access to the internet for information and communication is a critical tool for success. It’s not enough to have access to a four-lane highway infrastructure,” Lager said.
“You need access to the information highway. Northwest Missouri now has both and is in a better position to encourage job creation and economic development along 36 Highway.”
AT&T invested more than $2.3 billion in its wireless and wireline networks in Missouri from 2008 through 2011. During 2011 alone, AT&T made nearly 1,825 wireless network upgrades in four key categories in Missouri. These enhancements included:
* Activating more than 20 new cell sites or towers to improve network coverage.
* Upgrading nearly 300 cell sites to provide fast mobile broadband speeds.
* Deploying faster fiber-optic connections to more than 625 cell sites. Combined with HSPA+ technology, these deployments enable 4G speeds**.
* Adding capacity or an extra layer of frequency to cell sites – like adding lanes to a highway – with the addition of more than 875 of these layers, or “carriers.”
“As part of these local communities, we’re always looking for new opportunities to provide enhanced coverage as a way to help drive the local economy,” said John Sondag, president of AT&T Missouri.