Cingular Wireless Network Expansion Enhances Hartford

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Cingular Wireless Network Expansion Enhances Hartford Customers' Wireless Experience
Wednesday August 4, 9:03 am ET


HARTFORD, Conn., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- To meet the increased demand for quality wireless service in Connecticut, Cingular Wireless today announced the addition of four new cell sites in the Hartford area. These sites not only enhance existing signal strength for clearer, higher-quality calls, they also extend Cingular's coverage area giving customers more consistent access to the Cingular network throughout the greater Hartford area.
Cingular Wireless has added four GSM cell sites to enhance coverage in and around Hartford, Simsbury, Avon and Canton, and the heavily traveled routes in the area. A site in downtown Hartford and another on an existing structure along Albany Avenue offer improved coverage along Route 44 near the West Hartford and Avon line, and sites in Simsbury and Canton enhance coverage along routes 179, 202 and 309.

"We know that our customers' number-one priority is being able to make a call when they want and where they want," said Mark Collins, vice president and general manager of Cingular Wireless in New England, "That's why Cingular is committed to making our great network even better - not just in Connecticut, but across the country."

Cingular Wireless is expected to invest $35 million dollars in its Connecticut network in 2004. In addition to the four sites already deployed in the Hartford area, Cingular expects to add approximately 23 new cell sites to the Connecticut network by the end of the summer and up to 47 new sites by the end of the year, nearly doubling last year's expansion. The cell sites offer enhanced service along central corridors, including I-95, Route 15, I-91 and I-84, as well as the areas around Route 2 and Route 44. Customers also will find enhanced in-building coverage at the two Connecticut casinos, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. These network enhancements will help Cingular achieve its goal of building an even stronger foundation for customer satisfaction in Connecticut.

This $35 million investment is in addition to the $75 million Cingular invested in Connecticut over the last two years implementing an advanced GSM/GPRS/EDGE voice and data network throughout the state. GSM is the Global System for Mobile Communications, giving customers the latest technology advances, including phones with greater functionality and unique features, high-speed data connectivity and superior sound quality. With almost 1 billion people in 200-plus countries using this technology, more than 70% of the world's total wireless market is GSM. And what GSM delivers for voice, EDGE technology delivers for data. Cingular Wireless was the first carrier in North America to launch EDGE in June 2003, and expects to complete nationwide deployment by the end of this summer. It provides consumers with "always-on" connectivity, greater bandwidth and faster connection speed - all from a wireless phone.

"Over the last year we successfully completed our transition to an advanced voice and data network. We could have stopped there, but we didn't. In 2004 we are focusing our resources on increasing coverage, particularly in residential areas and in-building locations throughout Connecticut," said Collins. "These additional improvements will enhance data services and add coverage in Hartford to make a great network even greater."

About Cingular Wireless in New England:

Cingular Wireless in New England includes the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and southern New Hampshire. In the spring of 2003, Cingular announced the New England launch of its next- generation network using Global System for Mobile (GSM) technology for voice, and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) for high-speed wireless data. More than 1 billion people in 200 countries use this technology, which delivers a superior network, the world's widest selection of devices, and faster downloads on games, instant messaging and picture messaging. Over the past two years, Cingular has invested $145 million - or $1.4 million each week -- in building this advanced wireless network in New England. In spring 2004, the company announced commercial deployment of wireless services using Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology.