Home » AT&T celebrates launch of 4G LTE network in Lexington

AT&T celebrates launch of 4G LTE network in Lexington

By Lorie Hailey
lanereport.com editor

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 10, 2013) — A faster network that AT&T says is capable of “delivering speeds faster than many other mobile Internet technologies” is now available in Lexington.

AT&T officials cut a ribbon to celebrate the launch of its 4G LTE network in Lexington.
Rob South, AT&T director of sales, cuts a ribbon at the AT&T store in Hamburg to celebrate the launch of its 4G LTE network in Lexington.

Company officials celebrated the arrival of the 4G LTE network in Lexington on Thursday with a ribbon cutting at its AT&T store in Hamburg. The next-generation high-speed wireless data network was officially turned on in December, when it introduced the service to Lexington and Bowling Green, Ky., and eight other cities, Hartford, Conn.; New Haven, Conn.; Boise, Idaho; Boulder, Colo.; Lancaster, Pa.; Harrisburg, Pa.; Providence, R.I.; and Ogden, Utah.

The network will allow users to “stream, download, upload and game faster than ever before,” AT&T said in a press release. LTE technology also offers faster processing speeds and more efficient use of the wireless spectrum.

The 4G network covers more than 285 million people with ultra-fast speeds. AT&T’s 4G LTE is now available in 135 markets, including Louisville.

AT&T has invested $40 billion in expanding its wireless networks since 2011, when it began the rollout of the 4G network.

In November, AT&T announced plans to invest $14 billion over the next three years to significantly expand and enhance its wireless and wireline IP broadband networks to support growing customer demand for high-speed Internet access and new mobile, app and cloud services. The investment plan – Project Velocity IP (VIP) – expands AT&T’s high-potential growth platforms, helping drive continued increases in revenues from existing and new products and services, and earnings per share.

AT&T plans to expand its 4G LTE network to cover 300 million people in the U.S. by year-end 2014, up from its current plans to deploy 4G LTE to about 250 million people by year-end 2013. In AT&T’s 22-state wireline service area, the company expects its 4G LTE network will cover 99 percent of all customer locations.

About AT&T’s 4G LTE network

4GAT&T’s 4G LTE network’s radio components are placed close to the antenna at most cell sites, instead of inside the base station, which helps minimize power loss between the base station and antenna and, in turn, improves the performance of its 4G LTE network. The network also is designed with its core elements distributed across the country, which helps reduce latency, or the delay when using the Internet, because your request isn’t traveling as far.

(Editor’s note: Verizon also offers 4G LTE service in Lexington. It launched last year.)