AT&T to hire 200 new workers to support Tennessee U-verse growth

AT&T (NYSE: T) is ramping up its U-verse workforce in Tennessee with plans to hire 100 new full and part-time employees to support its U-verse roll out in the state.

Set to begin filing positions immediately, the telco is looking to add more customer support, retail and U-verse premise technician staff. To date, AT&T said it has hired 5,400 employees in Tennessee and over 450 people across the state in the first half of this year. 

Joelle Phillips, president of AT&T Tennessee, said they "applaud Governor Haslam and the members of the Tennessee legislature who are working to create a business friendly environment where industries want to invest and create job opportunities for Tennesseans."

Tennessee itself is a big target of investment for AT&T.

During the first half of this year, the telco said it had spent $175 million in making upgrades on its wireless and wireline networks in the state as part of its Project Velocity IP (Project VIP) initiative. This builds on top of the almost $1.4 billion it allocated to enhancing the state's network infrastructure between 2010 and 2012.

In the wireline domain, the telco extended fiber to 325 new businesses and brought U-verse service to an additional 13,600 locations.

One market where it continues to make progress is Knoxville. It established a partnership with Dewhirst Properties to provide FTTP-based services to a new multi-dwelling apartment community that will service more than 60 residents at West Jackson Row Apartments.

As AT&T has been ramping up its Project VIP investments in its operating territory, it has been rapidly ramping up its employee base. Besides Tennessee, the service provider has conducted similar hiring drives in other states including Arkansas, and Louisiana, and South Florida.

For more:
- see the release

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