ncDataCampus Designated as AT&T Fiber Ready Designation Reflects Presence of Fiber-Based, High-Speed Internet

Hickory, NC, Nov. 7, 2016 — As part of AT&T’s continuing efforts to drive economic development and investment in North Carolina, AT&T* and representatives from Catawba County, the cities of Hickory and Conover and the towns of Maiden and Catawba today announced that the ncDataCampus has been designated AT&T Fiber Ready, the first business park in the county to receive this designation.

In a global economy, connectivity is vital to new employers and businesses of every type. The AT&T Fiber Ready designation helps economic development leaders more effectively position their communities for site selection by emphasizing the availability of high-speed, fiber-based services.

“Catawba County's economy is growing, dynamic and diverse,” said Randy Isenhower, Chairman of the Catawba County Commission. “Whether engaged in advanced manufacturing, light assembly, data centers, distribution, or corporate operations, companies locating here depend upon advanced technology and fiber-optic-based communications. This certification sends a strong message that our region is ready to help businesses grow and succeed, while delivering an outstanding quality of life for employees and their families.”

The AT&T fiber network provides the bandwidth needed to support data intensive services such as video, collaboration, cloud services and more through products such as Ethernet, Virtual Private Networking, Managed Internet Service and AT&T Business Fiber. Customers can complement their high-speed Internet with network security options and online backup to help protect and virtualize their business-critical information.

“Two of Catawba County's largest employers also happen to be two of the world's largest producers of fiber optic cables,” said Scott Millar, President of Catawba County Economic Development Corporation. “So it is fitting that the availability of fiber optics should be a competitive advantage for us as we seek to attract more clean, advanced-technology jobs to this region.”

In January, AT&T announced that it had added 1 million additional business customer locations – including more than 23,500 in North Carolina – to its fiber network since 2012 when the company began its aggressive fiber expansion program. The expansion helped extend the AT&T U.S. fiber network another 76,000 route miles, bringing the total to nearly 500,000.   AT&T offers business customers high-speed Internet products on its fiber network in every major metro in the company’s 21-state footprint.

“We are excited to welcome the ncDataCampus to the list of places across North Carolina where AT&T’s fiber infrastructure is in place and ready to help local businesses grow,” said Kathleen Evans, regional director of external affairs for AT&T North Carolina. “Every day, AT&T’s employees use our billions of dollars of investment to deliver high-speed Internet for consumers and businesses. Those investments are possible in large part because of the smart, pro-investment policies championed by our state leaders and by local leaders such as Chairman Isenhower.”

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

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For more information, contact:            
Josh Gelinas
AT&T Corporate Communications
(704) 206-9071
jg775a@att.com