Cingular Tennessee/Kentucky Adds 100th Cell Site of 2004

[jones]

Cingular Wireless Tennessee/Kentucky Adds 100th Cell Site of 2004
Monday November 8, 7:32 am ET
Network Enhancement Initiatives Pay Off in Tennessee/Kentucky; Cingular affirms customer commitment to 'best in class' wireless experience


NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Cingular Wireless today announced the activation of their 100th cell site in Tennessee/Kentucky so far this year. The site, located in the Leiper's Fork area, a suburb of Nashville, TN, is a major milestone in the market's 2004 build plan, which is almost double the size of last year. Site 100 marks just two-thirds of Cingular's planned network build in Tennessee/Kentucky this year. The region can expect to benefit from approximately 50 additional sites before Dec. 31.
Site 100 is located on Carters Creek Pike, also known as Hwy 246, in southern Williamson County and enhances coverage in the Leiper's Fork area.

The 100 cell sites are part of a $100 million investment in Tennessee, Kentucky and Southern Indiana designed to enhance service and expand coverage in the region. By the end of this year the company plans to add 150 total cell sites. These new sites are intended to improve service quality and extend coverage for Cingular Wireless customers traveling throughout the region.

Recently, the company announced the completion of its previously announced merger with AT&T Wireless, creating the nation's biggest wireless carrier with the largest digital voice and data network in the country. The newly combined company, with more than 46 million customers and an extensive nationwide network, will offer consumers maximum convenience and flexibility, improved reliability, enhanced call quality and the widest array of new and advanced services.

"Superior call quality and extensive wireless coverage are two of the biggest factors customers consider when choosing a wireless provider," said Jim Thorpe, vice president and general manager of Cingular Wireless - Tennessee/Kentucky. "These first 100 cell sites of 2004 will pave the way for increased expansion throughout the rest of the year and set the stage for more network enhancements in 2005. In addition, the combination of Cingular and AT&T Wireless means the new Cingular will offer the largest digital voice and data network in the U.S., including service in all top 100 metropolitan areas."

Cingular Wireless will continue to make a number of network enhancements to further improve call quality and create additional capacity. Specific areas of focus in recent months have included a significant network investment to increase coverage in East Tennessee and bring more than 40 new sites to the area by year's end. The addition of 20 new cell sites in Central Tennessee enhancing wireless service on key roadways and throughout growing communities including the area around Percy Priest Lakes; the Tennessee Tech campus; Spring Hill/Thompson Station and Ft. Campbell. Cingular has also activated 10 new sites in West Kentucky and Southern Indiana including a key site on the campus of Murray State University that provides a stronger signal in buildings and cars and also increases capacity (the number of calls the local network can handle at one time) by 70 percent. Over the next few months, East Kentucky customers can look forward to significant local enhancements to their wireless service as Cingular completes 11 new sites throughout the area.

This year's network enhancements have also focused on some of the region's most popular tourist and vacation destinations with sites added in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Chattanooga, on campus at UT-Knoxville and around downtown Nashville enhancing service to the Titan's Coliseum and other key attractions.

Cingular Wireless' 2004 investment comes on the heels of a two-year $200-million effort implementing an advanced GSM/EDGE voice and data network throughout Tennessee/Kentucky. 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. What GSM delivers for voice, EDGE technology delivers for data. EDGE is a high-speed wireless data service which gives customers true "third generation" (3G) wireless data services with data speeds typically three times faster than what was available on GPRS. Cingular Wireless was the first carrier in North America to launch EDGE in June 2003 and expects to complete the nationwide deployment this fall. EDGE provides consumers with "always-on" connectivity, greater bandwidth and faster connection speed -- all from a wireless phone.

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

About Cingular Wireless

Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving more than 46 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between SBC Communications (NYSE: SBC - News) and BellSouth (NYSE: BLS - News), has the largest digital voice and data network in the nation. Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover(SM), the wireless plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Details of the company are available at http://www.cingular.com. Get Cingular Wireless press releases e-mailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://www.cingular.com/newsroom.




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Source: Cingular Wireless

[roamer1]

Originally Posted by jones

Cingular Wireless Tennessee/Kentucky Adds 100th Cell Site of 2004
Monday November 8, 7:32 am ET
Network Enhancement Initiatives Pay Off in Tennessee/Kentucky; Cingular affirms customer commitment to 'best in class' wireless experience

yet Cingular remains incapable of fixing Meigs or Polk counties. You'd think after a DECADE of complaints from people they would get a site in Decatur and fix Benton and Copperhill...but NO...

-SC