AT&T Spending Deep On Network, But $25 Million Less in Denver, Reporter Finds

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attAT&T’s public relations department has been in high gear promoting the carrier’s national spending on its mobile network. Inside Towers has recently reported on AT&T’s impressive investments in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and last week in St. Louis. And the company has invested heavily – hundreds of millions of dollars —  in the Denver market in recent years and is touting it’s Santa Claus-like spending. But it raised an eyebrow for Tamara Chuang.
In her blog.post Friday, the Denver Post Tech Reporter noted: “Officially, AT&T shared that it invested $300 million in its Denver wireless networks between 2013 to 2015. For the past few years between 2011 to 2015, that 3-year investment has been at least $300 million. A year ago, in a similar update, AT&T invested $325 million between 2012 to 2014. If my math is correct, that means the city saw $25 million less in improvements over the most recent three-year period.”   
And while overall spending is certainly inspiring, she embarked on a mission to find out where the money went. And immediately, there seems to be a ton of the dough going to small cells at entertainment venues. Chuang said AT&T “added capacity in the Colorado Convention Center, Coors Field, Denver International Airport, Park Meadows Mall, Pepsi Center and Sports Authority Field.” AT&T also boosted service for the 2015 MLS All-Star game with a “Super” Cell Site on Wheels (COW) at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, she found, adding that “AT&T tied with T-Mobile for third place in overall mobile performance. Verizon tied for first with Sprint.”
But it wasn’t only Denver that felt the love. Other spots in Colorado also got spiffy new stuff, too . The rest of the state also got some AT&T attention with about $25 million more over the most recent three-year period ($575 million between 2013 to 2015 vs. $550 million between 2012 to 2014). Those investments included 648 wireless network upgrades statewide, including new cell sites in Breckenridge, Georgetown, Empire, Silverthorne, Evergreen, Fort Collins, Granby, Greeley Mall and Woody Creek.
AT&T also doubled capacity at more than 200 sites, including Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver metro, Fort Collins, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction, Summit County and Winter Park.