AT&T Gets with the Program and Finally Introduces LTE 4G Rollout

AT&T T finally got with the program and introduced the roll out of its first LTE cities Wednesday, with Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta and San Antonio likely to see service sometime this year. Additionally, AT&T plans to add another 10 or more markets in the second half of the year, and cover 70 million Americans with LTE by year-end. To take advantage of the new speed, 20 4G devices will be released this year, with some of those being LTE capable. In its press release, Chief Technology Officer John Donovan noted that AT&T has "invested $75 billion in our wireless and wired networks over the last four years – more capital invested in the U.S. than any company in any industry." Verizon Wireless VZ and Sprint S have already begun introducing markets to 4G. Especially with the emerging popularity of smartphones, consumers are increasingly demanding speed and convenience. Donovan comments that "We plan to invest $19 billion in our wireless and wireline networks and other capital projects this year. The investments we've made to evolve our mobile broadband network in recent years, plus what we have planned for the future, put our customers in position to benefit fully from a host of coming mobile broadband innovations." Shares of AT&T closed at $31 on Wednesday, down 0.5%.