Kathleen Evans, Regional Director, External Affairs, AT&T

Closing the digital divide is key in today’s AT&T business plan. From 2019 to 2023, AT&T invested more than $3.1 billion in our wired and wireless networks in North Carolina, keeping businesses and residents connected and helping fuel North Carolina’s thriving economy, Kathleen Evans, regional director of AT&T, told Invest:.

What significant milestones or achievements did AT&T realize in the Charlotte region over the last 12 to 18 months?

At AT&T, we have been investing in North Carolina communities for nearly 145 years. We are proud of the work our employees are doing to connect more North Carolina businesses and residents. Over the past year, we have been laser-focused on providing the modern communications infrastructure that helps close the digital divide, helps keep our community safe, and enhances how we connect. As we have seen over the past few years, it is more important than ever to be connected. Connectivity is the core of our everyday lives, whether it’s access to education, employment, healthcare, or banking. It’s all online, and it’s going to stay online. In other words, in today’s global economy, access to reliable high-speed broadband is essential in attracting new business, participating in job skills training, and connecting with one another.

Connectivity opens the door to more opportunities for North Carolinians. It is what pen and paper were in the past. From 2019 to 2023, AT&T invested more than $3.1 billion in our wired and wireless networks in North Carolina, keeping businesses and residents connected and helping fuel North Carolina’s thriving economy. In the Charlotte region, from 2019 to 2023, AT&T invested nearly $700 million in communications infrastructure. Every day, our employees are turning our billions of dollars of investment into reliable high-speed internet connections for consumers and businesses across the state. Our continued investments help pave the way for future economic growth and job creation across North Carolina.

How is the company helping to better prepare the local workforce?

Building and maintaining a robust fiber optic network takes an enormous commitment of capital, a highly skilled workforce, and expertise. Having a skilled, local fiber optic workforce in North Carolina is integral to helping communities expand their broadband network and bridge that digital divide. At AT&T, we’re working with our industry partners, our local leaders, educational institutions, and others to deepen the talent pipeline to meet this moment. 

Recognizing the need for a skilled workforce to deliver on expanding broadband, we have collaborated with Corning Optical, the largest fiber manufacturer in the world. The company’s optical division is headquartered here in Charlotte, and we are collaborating to create a new training program focused on equipping thousands of technicians and network specialists across the industry with the skills that are crucial to design, engineer, install, and manage a growing fiber broadband network across the country. 

This fiber optic training program will help bridge the workforce gap in the state and across the country. The program is in full swing with trainees learning from experts about network fundamentals and engaging in hands-on experience to prepare them to fill needed roles at carriers, construction firms, and broadband providers.

These jobs will be good-paying jobs for network specialists and technicians. Our goal for the program is to have trained 50,000 American workers within five years of launch, which was 2022, and to keep that trade pipeline strong. 

What is the company’s plan regarding future technology investment?

Technology evolves very quickly. To meet the demands for reliable high-speed connections today and in the future, we are investing in our fiber network. With more than 4.4 million fiber optic strand miles in North Carolina, AT&T fiber is now available to more than 1.18 million customer locations in more than 105 communities across the state. AT&T’s fiber network offers a fast and long-term broadband solution that will give our communities the critical infrastructure needed to meet the demands of today and build for the possibilities of tomorrow. The benefit of fiber is that it’s scalable, which gives it future-proofing capabilities as network speeds and customer requirements increase. 

We are also investing in our 5G  network to give residents, businesses, and visitors a boost in their wireless connectivity. We view 5G as the most transformative wireless technology yet, with the potential to spark innovation in everything from transportation to manufacturing to entertainment. 

AT&T also makes it possible for businesses and industries to think and operate differently, driving innovations for today and for the future. Its faster speeds, lower latency, and massive connectivity open new possibilities for businesses to revolutionize industries. I think that lends itself to our priorities. We are focused on investing in our wireless and wireline infrastructure so that cities can accommodate growth. We are, of course, proud of those investments and appreciate the smart policies in place that allow us to continue investing. We are innovating and investing today for North Carolina’s future. 

Our network investments are doing more than keeping North Carolinians connected. They are fueling cutting-edge technological innovations like generative artificial intelligence, connected vehicles, and cybersecurity. For those innovations and more, connectivity will power the capabilities and benefits they drive. We have been at the forefront of these technologies for decades, and we look forward to continuing to invest in our networks to provide even more connectivity-driving solutions for Charlotteans and North Carolinians.

What is the company’s most important mission?

At AT&T, we are committed to connecting people to greater possibility. We understand how important it is to be connected, and we are committed to helping close the digital divide. This past April, AT&T announced it is committing an additional $3 billion by 2030 to help close the digital divide, bringing the company’s total commitment to $5 billion since 2021. This cumulative commitment includes an ambitious goal to help 25 million people get and stay connected to affordable high-speed internet access throughout the decade. This past July, AT&T committed to opening at least 100 connected learning centers (CLCs) across the country. The 50 CLCs opened thus far offer digital literacy resources to communities. They have served more than 33,000 users to date. AT&T supports those CLC partners with a $50,000 contribution and free internet connectivity. Corporate partners like Dell Technologies donate technology to those CLCs. 

Closing that digital divide is a function of having more access, making it affordable and then helping people adopt the internet. AT&T also offers a low-cost home internet service available to eligible limited-income households. We charge a standard $30 a month access from the AT&T plan with unlimited monthly data. We offer this very low-cost access program plan where we can.

We are also working to teach digital equity skills. We are leaning in to help on all those factors that create the digital divide so that we can help close it.