If the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile goes through, all but 1% or 2% of Louisiana will have access to high-speed 4G LTE service in three to seven years. Rick Demint, and Donna Byrne, regional directors for AT&T, say the only parts of the state that won’t have access to the service will be in the Atchafalaya Basin, Kisatchie National Forest and Toledo Bend Reservoir. Louisiana’s percentage is even higher than the 97% of the U.S. population that AT&T predicts will have access to improved service after the merger.
Joining with T-Mobile is the only way to provide the capacity to meet customer demands in the future, Demint says. Because of the rise in smartphones and video downloads, AT&T transmitted 8,000% more data across its wireless network in 2010 than it did in 2007. And the numbers are only expected to go up: By 2015, AT&T officials say the network will transmit eight to 10 times as much data as it’s doing now. Officials with the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice are reviewing the $39 billion merger, which was announced in March. Demint says AT&T expects to receive a decision by October or November, and that the merger will be completed by March 2012.—Timothy Boone
