(Source:  bizjournals.com; Photo courtesy: AndrewJ@Flickr)

AT&T Inc. announced Wednesday that it will spend more than half a billion dollars over the next 10 years on alternative-fuel vehicles.

The Dallas-based telecom giant (NYSE: ATT) will invest $565 million on about 15,000 vehicles over the next decade, including $350 million on 8,000 compressed natural gas vehicles — the largest investment in that vehicle type by an American company in history.

The remaining $215 million will be spent replacing more than 7,000 passenger cars with other fuel-efficient models.

“AT&T and other U.S. corporations have a unique opportunity to partner with the new administration as it works to lead the country out of this economic downturn,” said Randall Stephenson, chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T. “This investment is a first step on our part to help boost other industries while at the same time encouraging wider use and production of efficient vehicles and domestic fuel alternatives.”

Billing it as a way to not only go green but also create infrastructure and jobs in a flagging economy, AT&T said its spending will either create or save about 1,000 jobs each year for the next five years. Both the chassis manufacturing and the conversion to CNG will take place domestically.