When I moved to Selma I was a bit disappointed. It wasn’t something that city or county officials were doing, but rather that my cell phone reception was nearly non-existent.

After graduating from college, I signed up for a cell phone plan with AT&T.

Living in Baton Rouge, the service was fantastic. I could post a tweet in milliseconds and an Instagram photo with ease.

After moving to Natchez, Miss., service wasn’t quite as good. In Selma, there were many spots where I couldn’t get service.

But two weeks ago three magical letters appeared on my phone — LTE. LTE stands for long-term evolution, but that’s beside the point.

The letter mean data speeds on my phone are just as fast as my apartment’s wired Internet. It also seems like cell coverage has improved since LTE was turned on. I now have service virtually everywhere in Selma.

At the city council meeting on Tuesday, AT&T regional director Ty Fondren officially announced that LTE was active in Selma. The announcement means that AT&T customers will largely not have to worry about cell phone coverage in the city.

Fondren said the explanation for the expansion is that “it’s what customers want.”

It certainly is. I enjoy being able to use the service I pay for.

Selma residents with AT&T service should likewise be happy that they can finally enjoy its full benefits. Just because we don’t live in a large, metropolitan area doesn’t mean we should struggle to get a cell phone signal.

Perhaps there is another benefit to the addition. It could lead to additional business investment in Selma and Dallas County.

A reliable cell phone signal certainly won’t be the deciding factor when choosing to build a multi-million dollar facility, but it is a nice bonus.

Perhaps if a company already has a deal with AT&T and wants to begin operating in Selma, the transition would be easier.

Selma isn’t the only city with recently deployed LTE. AT&T has added more than 300 new sites, including Selma, since the beginning of the year.

Fondren said the addition of 300 sites is part of a larger mission to expand AT&T’s 4G LTE coverage to more than 300 million people by the end of 2014. For reference, 313.9 million people lived in the U.S., according to the 2012 census.

The reality is that AT&T still has some work to do before it is equal to Verizon.

IF AT&T is serious about increasing coverage, I’d like to see continued and increased investment in the Blackbelt.

One of the first things people notice when they get to a new city is whether or not they have signal. I hope AT&T continues to improve its coverage to make life easier in Selma.