AT&T will now offer 4G LTE coverage, providing faster mobile Internet speeds, in Toledo, officials announced Nov. 19.

The technology offers speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G technology. Mobile Internet usage has increased 20,000 percent since 2007 for AT&T users, said Mylayna Albright, assistant vice president of external affairs.

In the past three years, AT&T has invested more than $1.4 billion in Ohio’s wireline and wireless networks, she said.

“The point is the telecom industry must invest to meet consumer demands,” Albright said.

Rep. Matt Szollosi also attended the announcement, which took place at the AT&T store on Monroe Street.

“I specifically want to make sure that Toledo has every advantage possible to draw new business to the city and to ensure that our existing businesses have the best technologically advanced tools at their disposal,” he said.

Mark V’Soske, president of the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Doug Born, vice president of business development for the Regional Growth Partnership, also attended.

V’Soske said 4G LTE will offer benefits for personal usage, but especially for business use in the community.

“The technology is helping us become more efficient, more competitive,” he said, adding that it also helps businesses that use the cloud for information storage.

Born said, “This is so significant, I can’t even begin to expound at times.

He added that with economic development, there’s an emphasis on infrastructure improvements, but that technology development is important as well, especially for industries like telehealth and distance learning.

Customers will need a 4G LTE-capable device to reap the full benefits of the network, Albright said. However, even those with 3G will see improvements because of the investment in the network.

Columbus also recently launched its 4G LTE network. AT&T additionally offers its technology in Akron, Canton, Cincinnati and Cleveland.

Verizon, AT&T’s biggest competitor, made its network 4G LTE in parts of Toledo in July 2011.

AT&T also offers a 4G HSPA network, which still provides relatively quick speeds if customers go off the 4G LTE network. Competitors’ customers revert back to the slower 3G when outside of 4G, according to a news release from AT&T.

Tags: AT&T, Doug Born, Mark V’Soske, Matt Szollosi, Mylayna Albright, Regional Growth Partnership, Verizon

This entry was posted on Monday, November 19th, 2012 at 1:40 pm and is filed under Community, Development.
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