AT&T Inc. T 1.16% has invested nearly $2 billion over the past three years improving its service coverage in the state of Indiana. The efforts are a part of the company’s Project Velocity IP (VIP) initiative to expand and improve its services nationwide.
The initiative includes upgrades to AT&T’s reliability, coverage, speed and performance.
About VIP
In 2014 alone, AT&T made more than 330 wireless network upgrades in Indiana. These upgrades include new cell sites, increased network capacity, and new high-speed wireless Internet connections.
Bill Soards, president of AT&T Indiana, recently discussed the growing importance of network reliability.
“With a growing range of connected home appliances, cars and wearable devices, network connectivity is more important than ever before,” Soards explained.
Other VIP Projects
In addition to Indiana, AT&T has been heavily investing in network improvements in other locations as well in a constant battle to out-perform rival Verizon Communications Inc VZ 0.48%.
AT&T has spent nearly $200 million since 2012 improving its networks in New Mexico. The company has also spent more than $400 million during the same period on the Boston area alone.
AT&T’s Network Sales Pitch
AT&T boasts that it “provides the nation’s most reliable 4Q LTE network today.”
AT&T also claims to have the strongest LTE signal in the U.S. The company was recently named Fortune’s Most Admired Telecommunications Company for 2015.
Share Prices Lag
Shareholders of AT&T have not been impressed by the company’s efforts, but AT&T is not alone in its poor stock performance.
Over the past year, shares of AT&T, Verizon, Sprint Corp S 1.77% and T-Mobile US Inc TMUS 1.03% have all lagged the S&P 500.
Read this article and all my other articles for free on Benzinga by clicking here
Want to learn more about the stock market? Or maybe you just want to be able to look sophisticated in front of your coworkers when they ask you what you are reading on your Kindle, and you’d prefer to tell them “Oh, I’m just reading a book about stock market analysis,” rather than the usual “Oh, I’m just looking at pics of my ex-girlfriend on Facebook.” For these reasons and more, check out my book, Beating Wall Street with Common Sense. I don’t have a degree in finance; I have a degree in neuroscience. You don’t have to predict what stocks will do if you can predict what traders will do and be one step ahead of them. I made a 400% return in the stock market over five years using only basic principles of psychology and common sense. Beating Wall Street with Common Sense is now available on Amazon, and tradingcommonsense.com is always available on your local internet!
