Ameritech recently announced a $4.

Tuesday, May 15, 2001

Ameritech recently announced a $4.4 million investment in communication equipment and technology for Lawrence and Gallia counties in 2000.

The company said investment money was spent on installation and upgrades made to communication lines and infrastructure as well as the addition of hardware and software in the central office.

The communications company allocated $1.8 million in 2000 to bring additional lines to area residential and business customers. The company said the upgrades will "support future population and economic growth within the community by increasing availability of telecommunications services, encouraging more businesses and families to locate to the area."

Ameritech also invested $1.3 million in central office hardware and software due to increased demands in the communications industry. The higher demands, said the company, has came from the increasing use of the Internet and increasing customer usage.

The telephone company also invested $668,000 to install phone trunk connections. A company released memo said "these connections improve the reliability of the network and decrease network congestion as calls are quickly and efficiently routed using the additional capacity within the trunks."

"We are committed to providing customers with the world-class service they expect," James Smith, president of Ameritech, Ohio, said. "This investment is one example of the many ways we continue to ensure our network meets the needs of our growing customer base."