What’s new: In Louisiana, we invested nearly $2.4 billion in our network from 2021-2025 to build more infrastructure and power more opportunity.

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

• Nearly $60 million in Alexandria
• Nearly $425 million in Baton Rouge
• More than $150 million in Lafayette
• More than $100 million in Lake Charles
• More than $80 million in Monroe
• More than $700 million in the New Orleans area
• Nearly $175 million in Shreveport-Bossier City

But there’s more: With the current tax and regulatory environment the most conducive to investment in decades, and in celebration of the 150^th 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.

“AT&T’s continued investment in Louisiana’s communications infrastructure is helping strengthen the foundation for long-term economic growth across our region,” said Michael Hecht, President & CEO, GNO, Inc. “Reliable, high-speed connectivity is essential for attracting businesses, supporting innovation and creating new opportunities for families and communities alike.”

How we’re making it happen in Louisiana: 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 3.5 million strand miles of fiber in Louisiana, AT&T Fiber^® is now available to more than 840,000 customer locations in more than 80 localities.
  • With over 97 million fiber strand miles in 21 states, AT&T Fiber^® now passes nearly 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 Louisiana.

• 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 Louisiana. 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.
  • We’re ramping up performance in high traffic areas, like airports, stadiums and venues, including Ceasars Superdome and Smoothie King Center.
  • 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 Louisiana, we’re connecting public safety agencies and organizations in more than 510 localities across Louisiana.
  • We’ve rolled out Band 14 on more than 1,500 sites across Louisiana 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.

• To help bridge the digital divide in Louisiana, AT&T teamed up with the Jazz & Heritage Foundation to distribute 300 free laptops for families and students. Read more.

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

• LSU Selects AT&T to Boost Network Speeds at Tiger Stadium. Learn more.
• AT&T Fiber expands into more Lafayette area homes and businesses. Learn more.
• AT&T opens store in Blanchard. Learn more.
• Upgrading Louisiana’s Network for More Connectivity. Learn more.

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