AT&T Debuts Commercial LTE Licensed Assisted Access (LTE-LAA) Technology in Indianapolis

Initial Deployments in Select Downtown Areas, Expanded Rollout Planned by Year End

AT&T* deployed Commercial LTE-Licensed Assisted Access (LTE-LAA) technologies in select parts of downtown Indianapolis. We plan to expand LTE-LAA coverage in more areas of downtown Indianapolis by the end of the year.

This technology is another step in our evolution to 5G. We’re working closely with the City of Indianapolis to deploy the upgrades needed to support future technologies, like 5G.

“We’re excited to be the first carrier to commercially deploy LTE-LAA technology for our customers in parts of Indianapolis,” said Bill Soards, President AT&T Indiana. “Demand continues to grow at a rapid pace on our network. That’s why offering customers the latest technologies and increased wireless capacity by combining licensed and unlicensed spectrum is an important milestone.”

LAA is expected to play a key role as we aim to reach theoretical peak speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps). In previous field tests of this technology, we were one of the first carriers to observe actual peak wireless speeds of 979 megabits per second (Mbps).

With the Samsung Galaxy Note8, AT&T wireless customers in select areas within Indianapolis can take advantage of the experience this technology offers.

Adding next-gen technologies like LTE-LAA to the wireless network in parts of Indianapolis is just one way we’re investing to improve our customers’ experience and preparing for standards-based 5G. In fact, we invested more than $350 million in our Indianapolis wireless and wired networks during 2014-2016.

“Indianapolis is yet again setting the pace when it comes to next-generation technologies,” said Michael Huber, president and CEO of the Indy Chamber. “Indy will be the very first in the country to reap the benefits of LTE-LAA, bringing us that much closer to 5G. This is no surprise given our region's forward-thinking leadership and commitment to encouraging innovation.”

Progress on the Path to 5G

While 5G standards are still being finalized, we’re laying the foundation for tomorrow’s faster wireless speeds today with the initial launch of 5G Evolution in Indy and now with technologies like LTE-LAA. These are major steps on our journey to deliver 5G as early as late 2018.

In Indianapolis, we’re continuing to upgrade cell towers with 5G Evolution technologies like 256 QAM, 4x4 MIMO and 3-way carrier aggregation. While speeds will vary in 5G Evolution markets, in parts of Austin and Indianapolis, these technologies are delivering speeds 2x faster than standard LTE. ¹

¹ Claim based on AT&T standard 4G LTE v. 5G Evolution average download speeds. Available on capable devices in select areas only.