AT&T will invest “tens of millions of dollars” to harden its network in Louisiana against the impact of hurricanes and tropical storms.
The company says it will do so by burying fibre-optic infrastructure previously deployed on poles across some of the hardest hit areas during Hurricane Ida.
Winds from Hurricane Ida resulted in significant damage to infrastructure across the Louisiana region and multiple cuts to key fibre-optic lines in storm-impacted areas. This new initiative will help to improve network resiliency in future storms.
“I am proud of the tremendous work that has been done by our AT&T team to restore services quickly and effectively,” said Sonia Perez, president of AT&T southeast states.
“Having said that, we learn from every disaster event and make enhancements, and we are doing the same here. This critical project is the beginning of our work to apply constructive learnings from the impacts of Hurricane Ida.”
The primary focus of the project is to mitigate potential impacts from future events, working in areas in parts of the Bayou parishes and in and around the New Orleans area. This includes the Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, St. Charles, St. James and Terrebonne parishes.
The projected end date of the project is the first half of 2022, though much of the work should be completed this year.
Earlier this year, AT&T pledged $2 billion over three years in an attempt to bridge the digital divide in the US.
"We believe that broadband connectivity is essential for all Americans. Our broadband networks rose to the challenge of the pandemic in part due to policies that promoted private sector investment in multiple technologies and networks,” said John Stankey, CEO of AT&T.
