Customers of AT&T in Marengo County may have noticed a little something different atop the screens of their phones.

Thursday, 3G service was enabled in Demopolis bringing conclusion to an upgrade process that is more than six months past its original deadline.

“We planned to have all these projects done by the end of 2010,” said AT&T spokesperson Sue Sperry.

“Because of the large scope of projects across Alabama, our electronics vendor was late on the delivery and installation. Also delays occur for a variety of reasons, such as zoning, permitting and weather.”

Local customers of AT&T likely noticed a dip in the quality of service leading up to the switch, which Sperry noted as a necessary evil as some sites were taken offline in order to put them back online as 3G.

“(Some sites were) taken down while each individual component is being tested,” Sperry said.

The end result, Sperry said, is the availability of faster data speeds and more reliable cell service that should get better over time.

“There is a break-in period over the next few weeks, where we are carefully watching and optimizing to make it better,” she said.