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Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeBusinessSt. Croix businessAT&T Invests Over $15 Million in 3 Years to Boost V.I. Networks

AT&T Invests Over $15 Million in 3 Years to Boost V.I. Networks

At AT&T has invested more than $15 million in its U.S. Virgin Islands wireless network during 2016-2018. These investments boost reliability, coverage, speed and overall performance for residents and businesses. The company has also improved critical services that support public safety and first responders using the FirstNet communications platform.

AT&T’s wireless network covers more than 99 percent of all Americans and has become the fastest wireless network in the nation, according to the first quarter 2019 results from tests taken with Speedtest ® and analyzed by Ookla®.

“For our islands to continue to thrive and attract new jobs and innovation, sustained investment by the private sector is crucial,” said Lisa Hamilton, president of the U.S. Virgin Islands Hotel & Tourism Association. “By continuing to build state-of-the-art infrastructure throughout the territory, AT&T is making business growth possible and assuring that our residents and visitors have the tools to stay connected and entertained.”

In 2018, AT&T made numerous wireless network upgrades in the territory. It has added more capacity and bandwidth to several cell sites to increase speeds and boost performance. It also recovered cell sites damaged during the 2017 hurricane season. The areas benefiting from these upgrades include: Blue Mountain, Carambola and Mt. Pleasant on St. Croix; St. John West and Sussanaberg on St. John; and Benner Hill, Caren Hill, Emerald Hill, Nana Hill, Red Hook, Smith Bay and Wintberg on St. Thomas.

“We’re always looking for new opportunities to enhance coverage for our customers and FirstNet subscribers,” said Alexandra Verdiales Costa, AT&T regional vice president. “This investment will also pave the path to 5G mobile services in the years ahead.”

The AT&T LTE network covers more than 400 million people in North America. By building out its 4G LTE network, it is boosting network speeds and capacity, as it continues to expand the availability of its network and upgrades technology.

Additionally, for the 5th consecutive year, AT&T has landed on Fortune magazine’s list of the “World’s Most Admired” companies. It’s also the 6th year in a row we’ve appeared on the Global Top 50 list – no other telecom company made the Top 50.

Transforming Public Safety Communications
FirstNet is Public Safety’s dedicated, nationwide communications platform. It is for all first responders – career and volunteer, urban, or rural. It’s bringing public safety communications into the 21st century with new, innovative capabilities, helping first responders connect to the critical information they need – every day and in every emergency.

Building upon our current and planned investments in the U.S. Virgin Islands, AT&T continues to extend the reach and increase the capacity of the FirstNet communications platform:
– Local first responders enjoy the fastest overall experience on FirstNet, compared to any commercial network in the nation, thanks to the specialized capabilities enabled by the physically separate and dedicated FirstNet network core, like always-on priority and preemption. 3
– Public safety agencies subscribed to FirstNet have 24/7 access to a nationwide fleet of 75 deployable network assets. These assets can either be deployed for planned events or called upon in emergencies to help first responders stay connected and operate faster, safer and more effectively when lives are on the line.
FirstNet is built with AT&T in a public-private partnership with the First Responder Network Authority – an independent agency within the federal government. This helps ensure that the FirstNet communications platform and service offerings meet the short-term and long-term needs of the public safety community.

To learn more about the wireless coverage in the U.S. Virgin Islands or anywhere in the U.S., go to the AT&T Coverage Viewer. For updates on the AT&T wireless network, go to the AT&T network news page.

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