Powering Connection in Kansas Through Infrastructure Investment

Powering Connection in Kansas Through Infrastructure Investment

Darin MillerState Vice President, AT&T Kansas
May 14, 2026

What’s new: In Kansas, we invested more than $1.3 billion in our network from 2021-2025 to build more infrastructure and power more opportunity.

Communities throughout Kansas are seeing the impacts of this investment, including:

  • Nearly $1.1 billion in the Kansas City area
  • Nearly $275 million in the Topeka area
  • Nearly $450 million in the Wichita-Hutchinson area

 But there’s more: With the current tax and regulatory environment the most conducive to investment in decades, and in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Alexander Graham Bell’s first telephone call, we recently announced an investment and spend of more than $250 billion in the future of U.S. advanced connectivity, building the high-speed networks and resilience required for the next era of innovation and economic growth.

Why it matters: Connectivity is the backbone of America’s innovation economy, shaping our daily life and supporting the safety and resilience of communities nationwide. By investing in communities across the country, we’re helping expand access, strengthen infrastructure, and unlock greater economic opportunity for Americans—fueling business growth, creating jobs, and helping more people participate in the modern economy.

How we’re making it happen in Kansas:  Committed to expanding connectivity, our investment focuses on all facets of the network —including fiber, 5G and FirstNet,® Built with AT&T.

  • Expanding access to fiber: To help meet the demands for reliable, high-speed connections today – and in the future – we’re investing in our fiber network. With more than 1.6 million fiber miles in Kansas, AT&T Fiber® is now available to more than 410,000 customer locations in more than 350 communities. Learn more.
    • With over 97 million fiber strand miles in 21 states, AT&T Fiber® now reaches over 32 million consumer and business locations.
  • Building networks for the next century:To reach our goal and help our customers upgrade to faster, more reliable services, we’re actively investing in modern networks that will power us for the next century. We’re working to exit copper-based services in the majority of our wireline footprint by the end of 2029.

    Throughout this transition, no customer will lose access to voice or 911 services. We’re here to make the transition from copper to new technology like wireless and AT&T Phone-Advanced, a digital phone service that uses our reliable wireless network and any broadband connection as a backup, as easy as possible for our customers.

    • Today, AT&T Phone-Advanced is available throughout our footprint markets across 21 states, including Kansas.
  • Unlocking the power of 5G: From rural communities to urban areas, our overall wireless voice and data network covers more than 99% of all Americans, including Kansas. Our 5G network using low-band spectrum reaches more than 320 million people in more than 27,700 cities and towns in the U.S.
    • For less densely populated areas, we’re expanding our 5G network so people there can have access to reliable connectivity.
    • And we’re also working with AST SpaceMobile to offer a full suite of broadband connectivity: voice, data, and text in remote, off-grid locations. One day it may also support video services. 
    • We also launched AT&T Internet Air, our fixed wireless home internet service delivered over our 5G network, an all-in-one device that powers strong Wi-Fi coverage in your home.
  • Connectivity when it matters the most: As public safety’s partner, more first responders choose FirstNet to reliably communicate than any other network. The largest network for public safety with nearly 3M square miles of coverage, we are building a network with and for public safety—giving them the reliable, dedicated connectivity they need when and where they need it.

    We’re continuing to expand FirstNet with purpose-built FirstNet sites— based on direct public safety feedback and network considerations — focused on rural, tribal and remote areas of the country. We are also launching the first mission-critical push-to-talk platform (PTT), FirstNet Fusion, that can connect teams across virtually any radio system or wireless carrier. A secure, one-stop shop for emergency response coordination, Fusion will eliminate complexities around group communication and bring together critical communications capabilities.

    • In Kansas, we’re connecting public safety agencies and organizations in nearly 420 localities across the state, including the Miami County Sheriff’s Office.
    • We’ve rolled out Band 14 on more than 680 sites across Kansas to provide public safety with truly dedicated coverage and capacity

And we’re not just investing in our network; we’re also investing in our communities.

AT&T has committed $5 billion by 2030 to narrow the digital divide and help 25 million people get and stay connected to affordable, high-speed internet access and digital resources

  • In 2025, we teamed up with Human-I-T and FosterAdopt Connect to distribute 150 refurbished laptops during the special event in Wichita.
  • Also last year, in Kansas City, we teamed up with Compudopt and the YMCA of Greater Kansas City to distribute 175 refurbished laptops to children and families in the Kansas City area who have limited access to technology. The computers, funded by an AT&T contribution, were distributed during a special event at the Providence Family YMCA.

Read more about how AT&T is tackling the digital divide in Kansas.

Good news is always great to share. Here are a few highlights from the last year in Kansas.

To keep up with all the latest updates from AT&T Kansas, follow us on X @ATTPublicPolicy and and on LinkedIn.*

FirstNet and the FirstNet logo are registered trademarks and service marks of the First Responder Network Authority. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

About AT&T   

We help more than 100 million U.S. families, friends and neighbors, plus nearly 2.5 million businesses, connect to greater possibility. From the first phone call 150 years ago to our 5G wireless and multi-gig internet offerings today, we @ATT innovate to improve lives. For more information about AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), please visit us at about.att.com. Investors can learn more at investors.att.com

Related stories

Secret Link
p.after-p sub span { line-height: 20px !important; } .e-n-accordion-item-title-text { margin-top: 1.125em; border-bottom: 1px solid #8e8e8e; padding-bottom: .3em; clear: both; font-weight: bold; } .hide-print, .social-wrapper, .heading .elementor-widget-button, .heading-date, .button-wrapper, .table-of-contents-wrapper, .feed, .e-n-accordion-item-title-icon, .caption, .sd-post-categories, .heading-overlay .elementor-widget-heading:not(.elementor-widget__width-initial) { display: none !important; opacity: 0 !important; visibility: hidden !important; } .e-n-accordion-item-title { list-style:none; } .e-n-accordion-item > div, .author-info > span { display: block !important; max-height: none !important; overflow: visible !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important; opacity: 1 !important; } .elementor-heading-title { font-weight: bold; } .e-n-accordion-item { display: block !important; max-height: none !important; overflow: visible !important; } .e-n-accordion-item .elementor-accordion-content { display: block !important; max-height: none !important; overflow: visible !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important; opacity: 1 !important; } .key-insight-info .elementor-heading-title { font-weight: 400; } .key-insights { border-bottom: 1px solid #8e8e8e; margin-bottom: 18px; } .key-insights .key-insight-info { padding-bottom: 18px; } .author-meta { margin-bottom: 1.125em; }