AT&T brings 3G mobile broadband network to the Eastern Shore of Maryland

AT&T today announced the availability of its 3G mobile broadband network to 15 additional cell sites on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. As a result, customers in Talbot, Caroline, Kent and Queen Anne counties will experience enhanced wireless coverage, opening the door to a new era of mobile services, devices and feature-rich audio and video content.

AT&T’s 3G network is now accessible to customers throughout the areas of Georgetown, Massey, Crumpton, Barclay, Galena and Church Hill, traveling south to Price, Goldsboro, Greensboro, Ridgely, Hillsboro, Centreville and Denton. This 3G network expansion also boosts coverage to major roadways, like Routes 301 and 313.

These investments complement AT&T’s existing Eastern Shore 3G footprint in the communities of Betterton, Rock Hall, Chesterfield, St. Michaels, Trappe, Salisbury and Princess Anne, which were first made available to customers in March. To address the growing demand for its advanced wireless services, AT&T has also added 28 new cell sites in Maryland this year.

“Delivering dependable wireless coverage to Eastern Shore residents and connecting them to work, family and friends is our ultimate goal,” said J. Michael Schweder, President AT&T Mid-Atlantic, in the press release. “From 2006 to 2008, AT&T’s wireless and wireline networks technology investment in Maryland was almost $500 million. This ongoing investment will help our customers in communities near the Choptank and Chester rivers ride the leading edge of mobile broadband.”

The network extension is part of AT&T’s ongoing efforts to drive innovation and investment to deliver the benefits of Smartphones and mobile broadband for customers. More smartphone customers have chosen AT&T over any other U.S. competitor, and AT&T is committed to driving continual improvement of network capabilities to meet these customers’ ever-growing mobile broadband needs.

“Demand from customers for wireless services on their phone while on the go is growing,” added Rob Forsyth, vice president and general manager for AT&T in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia, in the press release. “This 3G network expansion boosts wireless experiences for consumers, whether they’re sharing video and photos with friends, listening to music, or checking the latest Skipjacks game score on their mobile device.”

AT&T matches its network investment with unsurpassed choice in the range of devices, services and applications compatible with its 3G network – the nation’s fastest, according to independent testing. AT&T offers a wide variety of devices from more than a dozen manufacturers, including handsets that are compatible with six different operating systems and five different e-mail applications. Our Media Mall 2.0 offers more than 90,000 content options, and customers can download additional applications over the Internet. Additionally, AT&T supports a community of more than 20,000 application developers via its devCentral portal.

Recently, AT&T announced plans to further upgrade its 3G network nationwide with HSPA 7.2 technology to deliver considerably faster mobile broadband speeds. The upgrades are planned to begin in the fourth quarter, with completion expected in 2011. Supporting this initiative is AT&T’s ongoing deployment of additional backhaul capacity to cell sites, which will support today’s unprecedented growth in mobile data traffic as well as the future demands of next-generation networks.
AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network is based on the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) family of technologies that includes GSM and UMTS, the most open and widely used wireless network platforms in the world. AT&T’s 3G network is available in more than 350 major metropolitan areas. AT&T also offers 3G data roaming in more than 185 countries, as well as voice calling in more than 215 countries.

More information about AT&T’s 3G coverage on the Eastern Shore or anywhere in the United States may be found here, which indicates the quality of coverage based on a street address, intersection, ZIP code or landmark.

Source: AT&T Inc.