AT&T expands high-speed internet in rural Arkansas communities

AT&T expands high-speed internet in rural Arkansas communities

Recent fixed wireless deployments bring high- speed internet service to more than 26,000 rural locations in parts of 40 counties, including Proctor and surrounding areas

AT& T Media Relations AT& T has expanded internet access in communities throughout Arkansas to better serve those in rural areas, including outlying areas of Crittenden County where such services have been unavailable until now.

As part of its FCC Connect America Fund commitment, AT& T has deployed high-speed internet service to unserved and underserved locations in parts of 40 counties serving more than 26,000 Arkansas locations. For much of this rural deployment, AT& T is using its Fixed Wireless Internet service.

Launched in Arkansas in September 2017, this innovative service delivers an internet connection with download speeds of at least 10 Mbps and upload speeds of at least 1 Mbps.

“Access to broadband service is key for today’s digital economy,” said Senator Jonathan Dismang, Pro-Tempore of the Arkansas Senate. “New technologies such as these will assist in closing the access gap that is present in certain areas of rural Arkansas. I’m excited to see AT& T investing in this way.”

Rural areas of Crittenden County, as well as neighboring St. Francis, Cross, Lee, and Mississippi counties are part of this expansion of service. “It’s nice to finally have a fast, dependable connection, even though we live in a rural area,” said Judy Mc-Cool, Hot Spring County resident. “It’s especially great for our triplet granddaughters who live with us.

Each has a laptop to complete school work and EAST Initiative projects at home. Before the new AT& T technology was installed, we had to go to the county library seven miles away to connect to the Internet.”

A group of AT& T officials as well as regional and local representatives were on hand Tuesday morning at the U.S. Highway 70 cellular tower in Proctor for an announcement of the beginning of the new service.

“The thousands of dedicated men and women who work for AT& T and call Arkansas home are proud to work with our state’s political leadership to provide the connectivity Arkansas’ residents and businesses demand,” said Ronnie Dedman, regional director of External Affairs for AT& T Arkansas.

Connect America Fund Deployment: AT& T has extended highspeed internet as part of its FCC Connect America Fund commitment to help predominantly rural areas.

As a part of that commitment, AT& T began offering high-speed internet to over 440,000 locations across 18 states last year, and will expand that offer to more than 1.1 million locations nationwide by the end of 2020, many getting access to high-speed internet for the first time. In Arkansas, AT& T is committed to extending high-speed internet service to more than 50,000 locations across the state over the next several years.

To determine eligibility, interested consumers living in the counties listed above may call toll-free 1-877990-0041. AT& T will continue making community-specific announcements in Arkansas in the months ahead, providing updates about additional availability as we expand high-speed internet to more locations.

In addition to Arkansas, AT& T has launched this service in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.

AT& T has invested more than $550 million in its wireless and wireline networks in Arkansas between 2014 through 2016. This drives upgrades to reliability, coverage, speed and performance for residents and business customers.

Fixed Wireless Internet service Includes 170GB monthly data allowance.

Req’s installation of AT& T outdoor antenna & indoor Residential Gateway.

$10/50GB of additional data up to a max of $200/mo.

From Anita Crow Smith