AT&T has announced plans to invest USD 14 billion over the next three years to significantly expand and enhance its wireless and wireline IP broadband networks to support growing customer demand for high-speed internet access and new mobile, app and cloud services.
AT&T also plans to expand and enhance its wireline IP network to 57 million customer locations (consumer and small business) or 75 percent of all customer locations in its wireline service area by year-end 2015. The expansion will extend AT&T's U-verse by more than one-third or about 8.5 million additional customer locations by year-end 2015, offer U-verse IPDSLAM service (high-speed IP Internet access and VoIP) to 24 million customer locations in its wireline service area by year-end 2013, upgrade U-verse to speeds of up to 75Mbps and for U-verse IPDSLAM to speeds of up to 45Mbps and proactively expand its fibre network to teach an additional one million business customer locations.
The investment plan Project Velocity IP (VIP) consists of wireless initiatives including the expansion of LTE to cover 300 million people in the US by year-end 2014, the acquisition of spectrum through more than 40 spectrum deals this year (some pending regulatory review) and plans to buy additional wireless spectrum to support its LTE network and the deployment of small cell technology, macro cells and additional antenna systems to increase the density of its wireless network.
Driven by Project VIP AT&T expects that during the investment period earnings per share will grow in the mid-single-digit or better range, consolidated revenues to grow to GDP rates plus 100 basis points and the expansion of consolidated revenues.
