AT&T recently announced that the mobile Internet network in the Bloomington area will experience improved coverage and capacity upon the completion of a key initiative to enhance network performance.

To compensate for an increase in demand for mobile Internet service, AT&T will add new layers of frequency to three cell sites across Bloomington to increase broadband capacity.

"AT&T is always working on improving coverage in the areas it serves," Susan Diaz de Leon, AT&T senior public relations consultant, said. "Recently in Charleston and Mattoon we added 3G to the area and capacity."

"We continue to upgrade our network with capacity additions, and new sites are being planned in the fourth quarter," she added. "Our customers and communities want that peace of mind that their technology works, so any improvement is positive and well received."

AT&T’s mobile Internet network is based on technologies from the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), whose goal is to unite the whole mobile telecoms industry in their aim of a common interoperable standard for the evolution of the mobile network, according to Kevin Flynn, 3GPP marketing and communications consultant.

"The goal is that interoperability is ensured between the various manufacturers’ equipment when it is placed on an operators’ network," Flynn said. "The mobile operators all participate in 3GPP to ensure that their suppliers are participating in the standards process."

AT&T’s network is continuing to grow and improve. In 2011, the company completed over 150,000 improvements to their network. Also, its 4G LTE network continues to grow as well, hitting cities such as Witchita, Corpus Christi, Buffalo and Gainesville.

Over 260 million people are covered by the 4G network, which is the largest in the nation, and the 4G LTE is now live in 47 markets, att.com states.

In addition to enhancements in mobile Internet, new Mobile Share plans, which are set to begin in August, will allow AT&T customers to share large amounts of data across smartphones, tablets and other devices, as well as unlimited talk and text.

Essentially, Mobile Share will allow customers to build a plan based on their devices and their usage, giving them more control over how they use data on a particular device. To keep track of data usage, AT&T gives users courtesy alerts when they approach their monthly data allowance.

Mobile Share plans give customers value, flexibility and simplicity.

In terms of value, the larger the data bucket a customer chooses the less they pay per gigabyte and the less they pay for each smartphone added to the shared plan.

As far as flexibility, customers can maximize their data by sharing it across devices and take advantage of any unused data.

In terms of simplicity, consolidating data into one shared plan means not having to keep track of multiple data plans, according to the AT&T website.