Wireless providers invest millions in area networks

In recent years, two of the nation’s largest wireless providers have invested millions to improve service coverage, capacity and technologies to Missouri and the Springfield area. Although strategies differ for Dallas-based AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and New York-based Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), it’s clear persistent customer demand for faster and better connections are driving investment decisions.

AT&T recently announced its investment of $70 million in the Springfield-area network between 2012 and 2014 as part of the company’s Project Velocity Investment Program, which pumped in $1.8 billion into expansions and upgrades for wireless, landline U-verse television and high-speed Internet services across Missouri.

The infrastructure spending puts Springfield on par with company investments the past three years in Albuquerque, N.M.; Modesto, Calif.; Lansing, Mich.; Worcester, Mass.; and the state of Delaware, according to AT&T spokeswoman Katie Nagus. With roughly 164,000 people, Springfield is on the low end of those populations, which range from 182,500 to 935,600.

In 2014, Verizon Wireless invested $101 million in Missouri, up from $68 million the year before. Since its inception in 2000, the company has invested $940 million in the Show-Me State.

For Verizon, the spending was strictly on wireless networks, said Brenda Hill, Verizon’s spokeswoman for Missouri, Kansas and southern Illinois.

“It’s not apples-to-apples when you compare the carriers,” she said, noting the provider doesn’t break down investments by cities.

Springfield and southwest Missouri became part of Verizon’s network following the majority acquisition of Little Rock, Ark.-based Alltel Wireless in 2009. AT&T also acquired part of Alltel in 2009 and again in 2013 following further acquisition from Atlantic Tele-Network.

AT&T’s investment strategy centers on meeting customer demand for faster speed and reliable service, according to company representatives.

Last year, AT&T expanded coverage to 13 new 4G LTE markets in the Show-Me State, including Bolivar, Branson and Lebanon, and the company claims to now cover 97 percent of Missouri residents.

“When you think about how people want to consume their information, so much of it is moving to video,” AT&T Missouri President John Sondag said via email.

“Business customers can collaborate, create and share in real time on their mobile devices. We want to keep our business customers competitive, keep them moving and allow them to compete in the global marketplace.”

In 2014, AT&T made 22 network upgrades for the Queen City area that expanded fourth-generation long-term evolution service capacity to 15 cell sites in Springfield, Nixa and Ozark; broadened network coverage along U.S. Highway 65 to Branson; and added two cell cites near James River Freeway and West Republic Road and another near the town of Aldrich in Polk County.

Boosting capacity is also Verizon’s primary interest. Part of the company’s investment in Missouri is to expand its XLTE technology and boost its 4G LTE network capacity through small cell installations, which Hill said adds density in the network. Verizon claims to cover 90 percent of the state.

“As people are using their phones more and more for data, they have a greater need for these small cells, which basically provide more data capacity in a particular area,” Hill said. “So they’re very good for cities, businesses, apartment complexes or malls, where you have a concentrated number of users. It’s a trend that you’re going to start seeing.”

Hill said small cells, the size of coffee cans or smaller, are mounted on existing network infrastructure, such as utility poles and buildings.

In Springfield, these installations are connected to utility and power poles owned by City Utilities. Springfield Business Journal filed a Sunshine request with the utility provider for the existing agreement between Verizon and CU for installation of the small cell units. CU did not fill the request by press time.

“The next stage for Verizon is small cell and filling in these areas for more capacity,” she added.

Verizon launched its 4G LTE network in December 2010 and deployed the network in Springfield a year later.

Human capital
Springfield also is home to a Verizon network office, at 3330 E. Montclair St., and two of four Missouri-based “smart stores,” which provide a larger demo and showcase space than the company’s traditional storefronts. The company employs 420 people in Missouri.

Nagus said AT&T hired about 170 people in Springfield during 2014 and hiring is ongoing for area call centers, retail stores and U-verse technicians. The company operates three company stores and three authorized retailers in Springfield, along with one each in Republic and Nixa.

Scott Goldberg, senior communications manager for Bellevue, Wash.-based T-Mobile USA Inc. (NYSE: TMUS), said via email the company plans to hire up to 145 full-time customer service representatives at its Springfield call center near Interstate 44 and North West Bypass. Over 200 applicants attended a T-Mobile hiring event in February, and 750 total employees are expected to be in place by year’s end, according to company representatives.

Goldberg pointed to record growth in 2014 as spurring increased employment. According to a T-Mobile news release, the wireless carrier added 2 million customers in the fourth quarter for an annual total of 55 million.

Comparatively, U.S. leader AT&T reported roughly 120 million wireless users in 2014, and Verizon Wireless had 108 million.[[In-content Ad]]