Faster internet speeds coming to Coachella Valley

Some AT&T users in the desert have noticed 4G LTE pop up on their mobile phones in recent days. It is welcome news for those looking for faster internet connection speeds.

LTE stands for Long Term Evolution. It is the next step in wireless connectivity, and At&T is in the process of taking it to the Coachella Valley. 4th generation, or 4G LTE, is the fastest connection available. It’s estimated to be 30-60 percent faster than standard 4G, and up to 10 times faster than 3G.

“I’ve been using the internet since the early 90’s and its way faster,” Nora Rudolph said. “It’s just lickety-split. It works really fast.”

AT&T Director of Communications and News Relations, Alex Carrey, sent us this statement on expanding 4G LTE in the desert:

“We haven’t announced any specific expansion plans for the Palm Springs area yet, but we do plan to continue expanding our 4G LTE footprint in the coming months. We’ve been actively testing 4G LTE in Palm Springs for several weeks, and customers with 4G LTE-capable devices may have seen areas where 4G LTE was live.”

Diana Mehrens just bought an iPhone 5S. It is capable of receiving 4G LTE. Her old iPhone 3 is not.

“it’ll be faster to connect with my friends,” Mehrens said.

Mobile devices with Verizon internet service have had access to 4G LTE speeds for about a year now here in the Coachella Valley.

Sprint does not offer 4G LTE in the desert. T-Mobile has recently rolled it out.

“It’s sporadic,” Reginald Harris said of 4G LTE service in the valley. “In some places it happens quick. They’re telling you, yeah its there. But it might not be. But eventually it does come.”

It may not be everywhere just yet, but the long term evolution of high speed mobile connectivity in the Coachella Valley is moving forward.