TUALATIN, Ore., Nov. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- With the busiest shopping season of the year for consumer technology gadgets starting this Friday, AT&T* today announced that it has enhanced its 4G LTE coverage throughout the Portland area.  As part of its continuing network investment and ongoing 4G LTE rollout, AT&T has upgraded more than a dozen mobile Internet cell sites in Beaverton, Milwaukie, Portland, Ridgefield, Tigard and Tualatin to expand AT&T 4G LTE coverage for area residents.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120612/DA23287LOGO)

AT&T 4G LTE is the latest generation of wireless network technology and provides several benefits for local residents, including faster mobile Internet speeds -- up to 10 times faster than 3G -- improved performance and innovative new 4G LTE-compatible devices.

To take advantage of the faster speeds, AT&T is offering several LTE-compatible devices this holiday season, including new AT&T 4G LTE smartphones and tablets, such as the Sony Xperia™ TL, LG Optimus G™, Samsung Galaxy S III, Motorola ATRIX™ HD, HTC One™ X, Nokia Lumia 920, Samsung Galaxy Note™ II, HTC One™ X+, Samsung ATIV smart PC and ASUS VivoTab™ RT.

"The 2012 holiday shopping campaign, more than ever, is about technology, connectivity, and mobile devices," said Mike Maxwell, AT&T's Vice President/General Manager.  "We want to provide an enhanced customer experience for everyone seeking the hottest holiday devices this season, and our investment in the local wireless network is just one way we're accomplishing that. "We're working to build a 4G network that's smarter and better to provide our customers with a superior mobile Internet experience."

AT&T launched its ultra-fast 4G LTE network in Portland in September this year. The new cell sites are one part of AT&T's ongoing efforts to expand 4G LTE coverage and to drive investment and innovation to deliver the nation's best, most advanced mobile Internet experience for customers.

AT&T's 4G Network

AT&T's innovation and investment has resulted in the nation's largest 4G network, covering more than 285 million people with ultra-fast speeds and a more consistent user experience. That's coverage in 3,000 more 4G cities and towns than Verizon.** Our 4G LTE network delivered faster average download speeds than any of our competitors in PCWorld's most recent 13-market speed tests.

AT&T's 4G LTE network delivers speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G***, as well as multiple innovations that optimize the network for performance. Our network's radio components are placed close to the antenna at most cell sites, instead of inside the base station, which helps minimize power loss between the base station and antenna and, in turn, improves the performance of our 4G LTE network. The network also is designed with its core elements distributed across the country, which helps reduce latency, or the delay when using the Internet, because your request isn't traveling as far.

AT&T has deployed two compatible 4G technologies to deliver more speed to more smartphone customers, which means AT&T customers can get 4G speeds outside of 4G LTE areas on 4G HSPA+, unlike competitors, where smartphone customers fall back to slower 3G technologies when outside of LTE coverage.

AT&T's focus to deliver the best possible mobile Internet experience goes beyond 4G to embrace additional connection technologies. AT&T operates the nation's largest Wi-Fi network**** including more than 31,000 AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots at popular restaurants, hotels, bookstores and retailers across the country. 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.

AT&T also is a leading developer of Distributed Antenna Systems, which utilize multiple small antennas to maximize coverage and speed within stadiums, convention centers, office buildings, hotels and other areas where traditional coverage methods are challenging. 

Over the past five years, AT&T invested more than $115 billion into operations and into acquiring spectrum and other assets that have enhanced our wireless and wired networks. Since 2007, AT&T has invested more capital into the U.S. economy than any other public company. In a July 2012 report, the Progressive Policy Institute ranked AT&T No. 1 on its list of U.S. "Investment Heroes."

*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 not available everywhere.  Comparison based on U.S. cities and towns with 4G coverage.

***Limited 4G LTE availability in select markets. 4G speeds delivered by LTE, or HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul, where available. Deployment ongoing. Compatible 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 at att.com/network. 

****Access includes AT&T Wi-Fi Basic. A Wi-Fi enabled device required. Other restrictions apply. See www.attwifi.com for details and locations.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and internationally. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's largest 4G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries.  It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse^® and AT&T │DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world.

Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com.  This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss. Or follow our news on Twitter at @ATT.

© 2012 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. 4G not available everywhere. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE AT&T