TMCnet News
AT&T Opening another Call Center in Indiana TMCnet Assignment Editor AT&T (News - Alert) is reportedly planning to open a 75,000-square-foot call center in Evansville, Indiana, to handle customer care for its wireless business-to-business organization. Although a location for the new call center has not yet been determined, it will generate about 565 new jobs for the Evansville area.
The carrier is reportedly planning to invest about $22 million for the state-of-the-art facility, and anticipates that the new jobs will result in a projected annual payroll of $12.9 million (that equates to annual salaries of about $23K for each worker, if, hypothetically, the pie was divided equally among all of them). AT&T made the announcement during a press conference with Gov. Mitch Daniels and Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel. “AT&T is producing the results we predicted as we advocated telecom reform,” Gov. Daniels said in a statement. “They’re connecting even our smallest towns to the Internet. They’re bringing new services to Hoosier homes. And they have recognized Indiana’s positive business environment with almost a thousand new jobs.” “The city of Evansville is grateful for AT&T’s continued investment in our city and state,” said Mayor Weinzapfel. “Evansville is on the move and these jobs will strengthen our local economy and put more people to work. We worked hard to land these jobs, and we’re glad for companies like AT&T that want to invest and expand here in Evansville.” The news follows AT&T’s announcement in late February that it would be opening a 425 seat call center Indianapolis to assist AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet subscribers. That center is expected to open later this year. Indiana has become quite a draw for AT&T and other telecommunications companies looking to open customer support facilities, thanks to the fact that the state legislature recently approved House Bill 1279, which frees telephone companies from state regulations and changes the way the cable industry works. Among other things, the new law states that IP-based services and commercial mobile radio services (CMRS) are not public utilities, and therefore do not fall under the control of the utility regulatory commission (IURC). “We applaud Gov. Daniels, Mayor Weinzapfel and all of the state and local officials who have helped create such a favorable environment for telecom investment and job expansion,” said George S. Fleetwood, president AT&T Indiana. “House Bill 1279 continues to deliver significant benefits to Indiana, and we are proud to have already announced the addition of 1,000 new jobs this year. This visionary legislation is the reason why so many new jobs are coming to our great state.” Since the passage of House Bill 1279, telecom and cable companies located in Indiana have reportedly announced investments of nearly $400 million. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation provided up to $2.7 million in tax credits and $325,000 in training grants based on AT&T’s expansion plans. -------- Patrick Barnard is Assignment Editor for TMCnet and a columnist covering the telecom industry. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page. |