AT&T Makes Upgrades in Clovis to Give Residents More Coverage and Additional Capacity

AT&T rolled out network upgrades today in and around Clovis that it says are designed to provide its customers faster speeds, increased reliability and best-in-class wireless service.

Steve Geil, president and CEO, Economic Development Corporation serving Fresno County, said AT&T’s significant investment to improve its network will further bolster Fresno’s reputation as a great place to live and work.

“High-tech expansions like this one help our business community, our local economy and our overall quality of life,” Geil said. “Few businesses today are more competitive than the wireless industry. That level of competition results in increased investment and new technology, which delivers benefits to the entire community.”

AT&T has added additional capacity to 120 cell sites in Fresno County (along with 66 cell sites in the city of Fresno) to help improve overall service. Clovis is expected to be one of the communities that benefits most from the new enhancements. Other communities with new wireless capacity include Coalinga, Friant, Orange Cove, Reedley and Sanger.

“Adding more capacity to a cell site is like adding more lanes on the freeway so that voice and data traffic flows faster,” said Terry Stenzel, AT&T Vice President and General Manager for Northern California and Northern Nevada. “Whether customers are talking, texting, e-mailing, surfing the net, streaming music or video, using their favorite apps, or conducting business we want to make sure they have a good mobile broadband experience.”

In addition, the company continues upgrading cell sites with fiber optic and Ethernet connections that enable faster 4G speeds in certain areas.

“We’re investing in our network in Fresno County because we’re committed to providing best-in-class wireless voice and data service to our customers,” said Eric Johnson, AT&T’s executive director for external affairs in Fresno. “We will continue investing and making network improvements to help ensure that Fresno residents have the best possible wireless mobile coverage.”

AT&T says that its mobile broadband network already provides built-in advantages for customers, including the ability to talk and while on the internet at the same time. Nearly half the company’s customers now use smartphones. In 2008, there were about 20 million connections to the AT&T Wi-Fi Network, while in 2011, there have already been 443 million such connections.