T-Mobile and Governor Jeff Landry Reveal Massive $290 Million 5G Network Upgrade in Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 18, 2024--

The Pelican State just got a major boost. Today, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) announced the completion of a multi-year 5G network investment totaling more than $290 million across the state, including a $50 million network upgrade in the Greater New Orleans area. The announcement comes on the heels of the company’s expansion last month of Ultra Capacity 5G to new communities across Louisiana and the entire country.

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Over the past three years, T-Mobile has improved Ultra Capacity 5G (5G UC) connectivity for more than 1.7 million Louisianans, including residents in small towns and rural areas in the state. This expansion provides access to 5G UC coverage to new geographical areas, significantly increases speeds and creates new opportunities for local businesses, schools, healthcare providers, first responders and anyone on T-Mobile’s network.

“T-Mobile’s investment in our state’s infrastructure will pay dividends for years to come,” said Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry. “By bringing high-speed 5G connectivity to more areas of Louisiana, we are making it easier for people to stay connected with their loved ones, access educational opportunities and grow their businesses. I applaud T-Mobile for their commitment to our state and for helping us get even closer to closing the digital divide.”

The multi-year network enhancements include newly deployed 5G coverage and capacity enhancements, via the addition of more than 300 new cell sites and nearly 1,870 upgrades to existing ones. Statewide, T-Mobile now provides 5G service along 99% of interstate highways, U.S. highways, and state routes across Louisiana. Additionally, 92% of the state’s residents now have access to Mid Band-Ultra Capacity 5G, up 192% in just three years. According to Ookla, a company that monitors and analyzes the nation’s wireless networks, T-Mobile is also the fastest provider in the state of Louisiana.

"Governor Landry's leadership in driving economic development in Louisiana, especially for those in more rural and underserved communities, aligns with T-Mobile's commitment to create the best possible network experience in the places where it matters most," said Ulf Ewaldsson, President of Technology, T-Mobile. "Our multi-year effort to enhance 5G connectivity across Louisiana is already bringing new opportunities for growth through enhanced speeds and better reliability in more places than ever before. And we're just getting started!"

Local Highlights

Locations such as Champion Square, the Superdome, the Convention Center, the New Orleans International Airport, and the French Quarter have also received recent boosts in coverage and speeds.

Louisiana parishes receiving immediate benefits from expanded and accelerated 5G service include:

With these upgrades, T-Mobile is ready to meet the increased demand for wireless connectivity and to continue providing top-notch network coverage for the people of Louisiana.

T-Mobile 5G Internet

T-Mobile's recent upgrades have already made a huge difference, especially through its fixed wireless internet service. By leveraging the power of its leading 5G network, T-Mobile is bringing a new choice for reliable, affordable home and business internet to Louisiana. Customers in the state are already taking full advantage of the service, with Home Internet users putting Louisiana in the top 10 states for highest average monthly usage.

Today, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is available to over 50% of homes in Louisiana – that’s over one million households. Plus, the Un-carrier simplifies business internet, enabling business to connect offices and locations nationwide. This means homes and businesses across the state, from small cities to big towns, can finally ditch traditional internet providers for affordable and reliable 5G internet from T-Mobile.

Louisianans can learn more and check eligibility at www.t-mobile.com/home-internet, and Louisiana businesses can learn more about T-Mobile Business Internet and solutions by visiting www.t-mobile.com/business-internet.

Retail Growth

Since 2021, T-Mobile has opened 35 new retail locations across the state, including in Amite City, Baton Rouge, Covington, Denham Springs, Hammond, Jennings, Minden, Natchitoches, and several stores in the New Orleans market. The additional new stores have created nearly 250 new jobs.

Community and Disaster Support

T-Mobile's commitment to Louisiana goes beyond providing cutting edge communications services to retail customers, businesses, governments and first responders, with initiatives like its Hometown Grants program – a five-year program launched in early 2021 to provide grants to 100 small towns each year to use toward city beautification projects, public improvements and more. Hammond — the first town in Louisiana to receive a T-Mobile Hometown Grant — recently received $50,000 to install a public address communications system at Chappapeela Sports Park. The system will allow the town to instantly communicate critical information such as traffic or weather-related emergencies. Towns with populations of less than 50,000 are eligible and encouraged to apply. For full details, visit https://www.t-mobile.com/brand/hometown-grants.

Another important initiative benefiting the state of Louisiana is T-Mobile’s Project 10Million, which offers internet connectivity and mobile hotspots to eligible students to help close the digital divide. The company has connected over 41,000 students, from over 40 school districts across Louisiana and is also offering school districts free and heavily subsidized data plans and access to affordable laptops and tablets through Project 10Million and its other education initiatives.

T-Mobile has also increased investments in network hardening nationwide by more than 30% over the past few years, which includes expanded backup power solutions to help ensure redundancy and reduce service interruptions in case of severe weather or other emergencies. In the last year, T-Mobile also added over 50% more heavy-duty network disaster response satellite vehicles to its ready-to-respond fleet and expanded its community support fleet with new, fully loaded RV command centers and heavy-duty Wi-Fi vehicles.

T-Mobile Lights Up Louisiana

To celebrate today’s announcement and everything the Un-carrier has done to provide Louisiana with exceptional network capabilities, T-Mobile is lighting the Pelican State up with magenta spotlights at some T-Mobile stores across Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport, Hammond, Alexandria, and Lafayette. T-Mobile is also offering anyone in Louisiana — customers and non-customers alike — a chance to win four new iPhone 15 or Samsung Galaxy S24 devices. For your chance to enter, follow the magenta lit road to participating stores between April 18 and 26!

T-Mobile is the leader in 5G, delivering the country’s largest, fastest and most awarded 5G network. The Un-carrier’s 5G network covers more than 330 million people across two million square miles — more square miles than AT&T and Verizon combined. More than 300 million people nationwide are covered by T-Mobile’s super-fast Ultra Capacity 5G with over 2x more square miles of coverage than similar mid-band 5G offerings from the Un-carrier’s closest competitors.

Follow @TMobileNews on X, formerly known as Twitter, to stay up to date with the latest company news.

Coverage values are based on outdoor coverage levels. Sweepstakes: No purchase necessary. Open to Louisiana residents who are 18 or older. See store for full rules & entry form. Void where prohibited. Opensignal analysis of Overall and 5G Download Speeds in New Orleans-Metairie and Louisiana, based on independent mobile measurements comparing February 25 and April 6, 2024. See 5G device, coverage, & access details at T-Mobile.com.

About T-Mobile

T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) is America’s supercharged Un-carrier, delivering an advanced 4G LTE and transformative nationwide 5G network that will offer reliable connectivity for all. T-Mobile’s customers benefit from its unmatched combination of value and quality, unwavering obsession with offering them the best possible service experience and undisputable drive for disruption that creates competition and innovation in wireless and beyond. Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile provides services through its subsidiaries and operates its flagship brands, T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile and Sprint. For more information please visit: https://www.t-mobile.com

Auction 108 Results in Lousiana (Graphic: Business Wire)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday said it will cancel $6 billion in student loans for people who attended the Art Institutes, a system of for-profit colleges that closed the last of its campuses in 2023 amid accusations of fraud.

Saying the chain lured students with “pervasive” lies, the Education Department is invoking its power to cancel student loans for borrowers who were misled by their colleges.

“This institution falsified data, knowingly misled students, and cheated borrowers into taking on mountains of debt without leading to promising career prospects at the end of their studies,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.

The Education Department will automatically erase loans for 317,000 people who attended any Art Institute campus between Jan. 1, 2004, and Oct. 16, 2017.

In total, the Democratic administration says it has approved the cancellation of almost $160 billion in student loans through a variety of existing programs. Among that total, $28.7 billion has been canceled for those who were cheated by their colleges or went to campuses that suddenly closed.

The department says it's taking action after reviewing evidence from the attorneys general of Massachusetts, Iowa and Pennsylvania, which previously investigated complaints of fraud and sued the for-profit chain.

According to the department's findings, the chain misled students about the success of graduates and about employment partnerships that would help students find jobs.

The chain told prospective students that more than 80% of graduates found jobs in their fields of study, but that was largely based on doctored data, the Education Department said. The true employment rate was below 57%.

Campuses also advertised graduate salaries that were based on fabricated data and included extreme outliers to make averages look better, the department said.

One campus included the annual salary of tennis star Serena Williams to skew the average salary, investigators found. Williams studied fashion at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The chain's tactics led borrowers to borrow high amounts of debt for programs that didn't pay off, the department said.

“The Art Institutes preyed on the hopes of students attempting to better their lives through education,” said Richard Cordray, chief operating officer of the Education Department's Federal Student Aid office. “We cannot replace the time stolen from these students, but we can lift the burden of their debt."

On Wednesday, the Education Department will start emailing borrowers who will get their loans canceled. They won't need to take any action, and payments already made on the loans will be refunded.

At its height, the chain had dozens of campuses across the country, including in New York, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles. It was operated for decades by Education Management Corp., which collapsed in 2018 after years of legal trouble.

The company reached a $95.5 million settlement with the Justice Department in 2015 over allegations of illegal recruiting tactics. Soon after, it began closing campuses and later sold the remainder to another company.

The final eight campuses were shuttered last year.

The Biden administration has continued to cancel student loans through several existing programs even as it pursues a wider plan for one-time cancellation. That plan is a follow-up to one that the Supreme Court rejected last year.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

FILE - People walk past the Art Institute of Philadelphia operated by the Education Management Corporation on Nov. 16, 2015, in Philadelphia. The Biden administration on Wednesday said it will cancel $6 billion in student loans for people who attended the Art Institutes, a system of for-profit colleges that closed the last of its campuses in 2023 amid accusations of fraud. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)