News
Major Mobile Carrier Upgrades Network Speed
< < Back toA major mobile carrier is promising to improve data accessibility speeds in Athens.
New infrastructure is giving AT&T subscribers faster wireless and data access on their mobile devices. The company turned on its 4G LTE network earlier this week.
Athens is the first rural area in Ohio to receive the wireless upgrade.
AT&T made the announcement Friday morning at its store on East State Street.
Company officials said they are excited about the upgrade, and added that Athens' college community makes it a prime location to implement the infrastructure.
"We now have just over a 100,000 devices connected in Athens, and 80 percent of those are mobile," said Brice Bible, chief information officer at Ohio University. "Our students are both on and off campus as well as faculty. Their expectation will be that they can get to the same services on campus at the same rich environment they expect and have grown to expect."
The company also endorsed its "It Can Wait" campaign Friday, which encourages drivers to refrain from texting while driving.
A driving simulator allowed attendees to test their skills at texting while behind the wheel.