AT&T* invested nearly $450 million in its Austin area wireless and wireline networks from 2009 through 2011 with a focus on improving the company's mobile Internet coverage and overall performance of its networks.

During 2011, AT&T made nearly 350 wireless network upgrades in four key categories in Austin. These enhancements include:

Activating 10 new cell sites or towers to improve network coverage.

Deploying faster fiber-optic connections to nearly 250 cell sites. Combined with HSPA+ technology, these deployments enable 4G speeds**.

Adding capacity or an extra layer of frequency to cell sites - like adding lanes to a highway - with the addition of more than 80 of these layers, or "carriers".

Upgrading five cell sites to provide fast mobile Internet speeds.

In addition, AT&T officially launched 4G LTE service in the Austin area on January 5, 2012***.

"Our goal is to deliver a network experience that mobilizes everything for customers," said Chris Penrose, vice president and general manager, AT&T South Texas. "The ongoing investment we're making in Austin is designed to increase coverage and reliability, and to provide advanced services to our customers."

CNN Money recently recognized AT&T for enhancing its wireless network. Last year, AT&T completed 150,000 network enhancements across the country, more than triple the year before, giving customers more capacity and faster speeds, as well as improving 3G dropped-call performance by 25 percent. AT&T plans to support the build or upgrade of thousands of cell sites nationwide to increase network speed, coverage and reliability for both mobile voice and broadband services. In addition, AT&T plans to install additional radio "carriers" at thousands of cell sites nationally, enabling new layers of spectrum capacity to carry larger volumes of mobile Internet traffic. Additional capacity helps support rising mobile data traffic volumes, which continue to increase at a rapid pace.

AT&T operates the nation's largest Wi-Fi network**** with nearly 30,000 AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots in the U.S. and provides access to more than 225,000 hotspots globally through roaming agreements. In 2011, customers made 1.2 billion AT&T Wi-Fi Connections, with 486.9 million connections in the 4th quarter alone. Most AT&T smartphone customers get access to our entire national Wi-Fi network at no additional cost, and Wi-Fi usage doesn't count against customers' monthly wireless data plans.

For more information about AT&T's coverage in Austin or anywhere in the United States, consumers can visit the AT&T Coverage Viewer. Using the online tool, AT&T customers can measure quality of coverage from a street address, intersection, ZIP code or even a landmark. For updates on the AT&T wireless network, please visit the AT&T network news page.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.**4G speeds delivered by HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul. Available in limited areas. Availability increasing with ongoing backhaul deployment. 4G device required. Learn more at att.com/network.*** Limited 4G LTE availability in select markets. Deployment ongoing. 4G LTE device and data plan required. Up to 10x claim compares 4G LTE download speeds to industry average 3G download speeds. LTE is a trademark of ETSI. Learn more about 4G LTE at att.com/network. **** Largest based on company branded and operated hotspots. Access includes AT&T Wi-Fi Basic. A Wi-Fi enabled device required. Other restrictions apply.