By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
November 23, 2011

Kansas Citians will soon be able to surf the web and download apps at lightning speeds with AT&T.

AT&T has hopped on board the 4G train and officially launched its 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) mobile broadband network Sunday, Nov. 20. Kansas City is only one of 15 U.S. cities to receive the 4G LTE service.

AT&T representatives, along with Gov. Jay Nixon and Kansas City Mayor Sly James, made the announcement during a Nov. 17 press conference at AT&T’s auditorium, 2121 E. 63rd St., Kansas City, Mo.

During the past three years, AT&T has invested $525 million in wireless and wire line networks in Kansas City, AT&T Missouri President John Sondag said. To accommodate the rapid growth in its call center operations, AT&T also hired 140 new employees to work at the Kansas City office.

AT&T’s investment in Kansas City will likely lead to additional economic development and entrepreneurial opportunities in Kansas City, James said.

“If Missouri is going to grow and compete with other regions, we need to look to the future,” Sondag said. “We need to create an environment that encourages companies like ours to hire and encourages companies like ours to invest.”

The telephone industry is “going through a significant transition,” Sondag said. More people want broadband Internet service and wireless services and the demand for land line service continues to decline, he said.

The 4G LTE service will allow customers to access the Internet with speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G technology, said Nancy Garvey, vice president and general manager of AT&T Missouri. That means access to richer content, lower latency times and faster uploads and downloads.

All this technology translates into a global economy. Nixon pointed out that since 2010 revenue from Missouri’s exports has increased by $1.2 billion.

“None of that is possible unless we can communicate around the world,” Nixon said. “More jobs are being created once again here by a big brand. When companies like AT&T invest in your state, you know you’re in the right line.”