AT&T Building More Cellular Sites
By Samantha Maziarz Christmann, The Buffalo News, N.Y.
Jun. 7–AT&T’s summer agenda is calling for the addition of cellular infrastructure in Western New York, part of $80 million in upgrades scheduled for Upstate New York this year.
The telecommunications company has already begun installing cell sites in Derby, Elma, Town of Tonawanda, West Seneca and near Gates Circle in Buffalo, which should be up and running by the end of summer. Two additional sites were recently completed in Orchard Park and East Aurora.
The project will also expand AT&T’s high-speed third-generation (3G) mobile broadband network into Niagara County and southern Erie County, tripling its current coverage area.
“Every time we upgrade technology, customers consume that technology,” said Bob Holliday, vice president and general manager of AT&T in Upstate New York. “So, we are constantly upgrading and expanding our network.”
Users in Niagara and southern Erie counties currently have access to AT&T mobile broadband, but the expansion will provide faster connections and improved quality as well as the capability to use AT&T’s live feed video share service, which can only be used on the 3G network.
The enhancements are expected to increase wireless internet connection speed, improve cellular voice quality and provide deeper in-building penetration for better coverage.
This latest phase of development is part of $250 million AT&T has spent since 2005 expanding and enhancing coverage in the territory spanning from Buffalo to Albany, including the Southern Tier and excluding New York City.
“The network consumers experienced in 2003, 2004 or even 2005 is vastly different than it is today,” Holliday said. “It is essentially a different network and it works really, really well.”
schristmann@buffnews.com
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