09/08/2010 By http://www.tradingmarkets.com ( Source: http://www.tradingmarkets.com )

AT&T expands 3G mobile broadband network in South Carolina

US wireless communications holding company AT&T (NYSE: T | PowerRating) on Friday announced the availability of its third generation (3G) mobile broadband network in Hilton Head and Bluffton, South Carolina.

New areas now covered by AT&T's 3G network include Hilton Head, Hilton Head Island and Bluffton along Fording Island Road and the communities of Shipyard Plantation, Wexford and Sea Pines.

The company said that from 2007 through to 2009, its total capital investment in its South Carolina's wireless and wireline networks was approximately USD625m. From 2007 through to 2009, AT&T's wireless network investment in South Carolina was over USD90m.

AT&T also recently completed a software upgrade at 3G cell sites nationwide which prepares its 3G network for even faster speeds. The deployment of High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 technology is the first of multiple initiatives in AT&T's network enhancement strategy designed to provide customers with an enhanced mobile broadband experience, both today and well into the future, said the company.

These faster 3G speeds are scheduled to become available this year and in 2011 on a market-by-market basis as AT&T will combine the new technology with the increased deployment of high-speed backhaul connections to cell sites, primarily with fibre-optic technology.