AT&T’s Hyperlocal Sites Show Off Network Upgrades

If you’ve ever called your carrier about spotty coverage, then chances are you’ve heard the party line: “we’re working to improve the service in your area.” It’s delightfully vague — you know that your concerns are being considered, just without any concrete timeline for improvement.

Today, AT&T has announced their intention to make those mythical service improvements more transparent. Eight microsites for major markets have gone live this morning, all focusing on service enhancements made in the past year.

In the Philadelphia area, for example, AT&T takes credit for 961 service updates year-to-date, ranging from installing new cell sites (13) to capacity upgrades (552). Zooming in on parts of the map provides a more detailed breakdown on the work AT&T has done in specific towns and areas. The Dallas-Fort Worth market seems to have benefited the most in 2011 with 1374 network improvements, while Tampa-St. Petersburg has had to make do with only 248.

Interestingly, the hyperlocal sites also include projected LTE coverage both before and after the proposed T-Mobile merger. Of course, the post-merger map displays a drastic increase in 4G LTE coverage, but one has to wonder how much of that could’ve been have accomplished anyway if AT&T was willing to throw down cash for network improvements.

Aside from aforementioned markets, residents of Houston, St. Louis, Kansas City, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Indianapolis and Atlanta can access their sites to see what exactly AT&T has been up to lately. The sites will be updated weekly, so coverage-concerned callers can see if AT&T is actually making good on their claims.