ANALYST FIRM RECOGNIZES AT&T AS A LEADING U.S. TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDER

Leading analyst firm Gartner Inc. today named AT&T a Leader in its 2011 Magic Quadrant for U.S. Telecommunications Service Providers. AT&T was also named a Leader in the 2011 North America MSSP Magic Quadrant Report.

AT&T Makes Major Network Improvements in 2011

Great News!!!! AT&T customers in the Los Angeles area are getting better coverage than ever before.  With so much broadband traffic on the smart phone highway, AT&T has added thousands of more lanes to its mobile super-highway. 

More than 1,700 network improvements were completed in Los Angeles, many in the last few months.  And because AT&T knows how important reliable and fast communication is to its customers the company continues to build its network.

Angelenos can also expect fewer dropped calls on the enhanced AT&T 4G network.  Dropped call rates have plummeted 41% this year.  Faster speeds, more capacity and increased reliability are the company’s highest priorities.

“We are committed to deliver the best customer experience possible, by expanding network capacity and improving service quality,” said Andy Shibley, AT&T Vice President and General Manager in Los Angeles.  “These improvements translate into tangible customer benefits.”

Oscar de la Hoya teams up with AT&T for Boys & Girls Club

President of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar de la Hoya with kids from the Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley

Andy Shibley AT&T VPGM of Greater Los Angeles, President of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar de la Hoya, Executive Director Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley Shanna Warren

President of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar de la Hoya, speaks to kids from the Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley

AT&T U-verse and Oscar de la Hoya delivered a knock out event for more than 100 young people at the Burbank, CA Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley.  In a sea of snapping cameras and excited kids, Andy Shibley, AT&T Vice President & General Manager, and boxing icon and President of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar de la Hoya didn’t disappoint with positive messages of working hard for your dreams and keeping up with technology. Oscar talked about AT&T’s innovation especially around U-Verse and the future of television.  The presentation culminated in a donation of $5,000 to the Boys and Girls Club, with free tickets to the upcoming boxing fight at the Honda Center along with popcorn, movies, and classic boxing matches courtesy of AT&T U-verse TV.

GOOD NEWS FOR SHOPPERS ON BLACK FRIDAY

With Black Friday just hours away, there’s great news for iPhone 4S shoppers.  AT&T reports its stores will have plenty of inventory of the popular device.   That’s good news because availability of iPhone 4S has been scarce with high demand and short supply.    Whether buying for yourself or giving a gift, an iPhone 4S from AT&T is three times faster than competitors and you can talk and surf at the same time. 

AT&T will also have stock of iPad 2 plus a leading selection of accessories and cases.

In addition, Black Friday shoppers will benefit from a great retail experience – AT&T’s retail stores have the highest rated purchase experience – part of the reason why AT&T retail stores sell more iPhones than anyone else.

It’s good news just ahead of the busiest shopping day of the year!!!!

THE AMERICANA AT BRAND TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY,THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17 AT 7:30 P.M.

On Thursday, November 17 at 7:30 p.m., The Americana at Brand hosts the fourth annual tree lighting celebration sponsored by Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Cadillac.  At this year’s celebration, Cirque Du Santa, The Americana at Brand will transform into a whimsical holiday playground where family and friends will enjoy spectacular dance routines and gravity defying aerial and acrobatic performances.   

Sugar plum fairies will dance overhead as nutcrackers and toy soldiers magically come to life to the sound of everyone’s favorite holiday songs.  Santa Claus will make a dramatic entrance and excite the crowd as the countdown begins to light the stunning 100-ft tree bringing its 10,000 glistening lights and 15,000 sparkling ornaments to life.  An exciting fireworks display will conclude the magical evening.  

Thursday, November 17
7:30 p.m. – Holiday Show
8:30 p.m. – Fireworks Finale  

The Americana at Brand
(Outdoor concert stage)
300 S. Brand Blvd, Glendale , CA

www.americanaatbrand.com/

Smartphone Apps Take a Haunted Spin for Halloween

First NonProfit Day in LA; Annenberg Foundation Salute

The City Council plans to declare next Tuesday, October 25^th as  Non-Profit Day in LA, coinciding with a major Annenberg Foundation event downtown saluting nonprofits in LA.  Wallis Annenberg, Governor Jerry Brown and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will highlight the important role that non-profits play in LA, especially during these tough economic times.   Jamie Lee Curtis and George Lopez will co-host and Michelle Branch and LA Philharmonic violinist Robert Gupta will entertain the more than 1,200 guests expected to attend the Annenberg Peer to Peer event.  Ten LA non-profits will participate in exciting “fast pitch” presentations about their organizations before an audience of more than 1,000 people for prizes totaling $100,000. 

The non-profits that will compete in the “fast pitch” competition include: Cardborigami which makes a portable shelter of treated cardboard that is folded into an origami structure and carried around as a backpack; Get on the Bus, a group that brings children throughout California to visit their mothers and fathers in prison; GRID Alternatives which installs solar systems into the homes of low-income families, reducing their electric bills by approximately 75 percent; Los Angeles Diaper Drive, an organization that distributes diapers to low income families so they don’t have to choose between buying diapers and feeding their children; Beauty Bus Foundation which enhances the quality of life for terminally ill people and their caregivers by providing in-home beauty services; Mother’s Day Radio which takes a service-learning, peer mentor approach to media literacy with college students teaching teens to think critically about misogyny and violence in media; Gumball Foundation, a non-profit that helps students start their own small-scale vending machine business, providing a way for them to earn money for college and motivation for academic success; Village Market Place which increases access to locally-grown healthy goods while creating meaningful jobs for youth and adults; Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, an organization that is creating a mass marketing campaign that places native plants in large retail outlets, helping customers to lower their water bills and conserve natural resources; and Inner-City Arts, an arts education organization in the Skid Row area of downtown LA that brings students from their public school classrooms to art classes.

Judges for the “Fast Pitch” will be Eileen Heisman, president and CEO of National Philanthropic Trust; Nike Irvin, vice president programs for California Community Foundation; Warren Olney, journalist and program host at KCRW; and Jake Winembaum, renowned entrepreneur and founder of numerous Internet businesses and the business incubator and investment firm Blue Waters Research.

Annenberg Foundation’s Peer to Peer will be held at Club Nokia at L.A. Live thanks to the generosity of AEG and the STAPLES Foundation and AEG President Timothy J. Leiweke.  The event also received the support of the Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc., the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Entertainment Industry Foundation.  Peer to Peer is being produced by Academy Award-winner Bruce Cohen and Bruce Cohen Productions.

AT&T ACTIVATES ONE MILLION IPHONE 4S’

Customers Prefer AT&T Speed Advantage

AT&T activated more than 1 million iPhone 4S’ as of Tuesday, making it the most successful iPhone launch in the company’s history.  AT&T was the first carrier in the world to launch iPhone in 2007 and is the only U.S. carrier to support iPhone 4S with 4G speeds.

“It’s no surprise that customers are clamoring for iPhone 4S and they want it to run on a network that lets them download twice as fast as competitors’,” said Ralph de la Vega, President and CEO, AT&T Mobility & Consumer Markets.

AT&T’s speed advantage, and the unique ability to talk and surf at the same time, has been roundly praised by industry pundits.