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Donating phones, service and filling a 45-foot RV with supplies BRENTWOOD, Tenn., Sept. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cingular Wireless markets nationwide, including Tennessee and Kentucky, are aiding in Katrina relief efforts through various initiatives. In the Tennessee/Kentucky region, Cingular is donating phones and service to organizations supporting the relief efforts, providing free calling stations in its company-owned stores for displaced Katrina victims, and collecting much needed supplies for those impacted by the deadly storm. "What people along the Gulf Coast have gone through is unimaginable, and we want to do our part to help them get through this incredibly difficult time," said Jim Thorpe, vice president and general manager for Cingular's Tennessee/Kentucky market. In Memphis, 40 Cingular Wireless phones and service have been donated to Baptist Hospital to be used at its Memphis and Oxford, Columbus, and New Albany Mississippi facilities, where patients from the hurricane-stricken Gulf Coast are being treated. Additionally, Cingular has donated five wireless phones and service to the Catholic Diocese shelter in Memphis where Katrina evacuees are being housed. In Nashville, Cingular has donated 12 phones and service to the American Red Cross and six phones and service to the Tennessee National Guard. In west Kentucky, Cingular has donated 10 wireless phones and service to the Evansville, Indiana FOX affiliate to be used for a Hurricane Katrina telethon to air September 7, 8 and 9. In east Kentucky, Lexington employees have loaded a 45-foot RV, normally used for store openings and promotional activities, with more than 250 plastic gas cans, wireless phone chargers and cigarette lighter adapters and are driving it to Cingular's regional headquarters at 5310 Maryland Way in Brentwood, Tennessee. Once there, additional supplies collected by employees will be loaded in the van on September 7 and 8. Cingular is inviting Central Tennessee residents to assist in this effort by bringing supplies to the Brentwood office. Items needed include: - Bottled Water - Gasoline - Clothing, shoes - Baby items such as diapers - Toiletries (soap, shampoo, deodorant, shaving cream, etc.) - Bedding Items (sheets, pillows, blankets) - Canned goods and non-perishable food items - Cots - Sleeping bags Once the RV arrives at its final destination, the items will be distributed to those in need, and the van will then become a "mobile calling center" to help the many individuals who are without power and phone service due to Hurricane Katrina. Cingular's efforts in Tennessee and Kentucky are part of a nationwide outreach to provide immediate relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina. The company is using a multi-pronged approach to raise millions of dollars for Katrina victims and to assist its own employees who have been affected by the disaster. Other efforts to aid hurricane victims include: - Establishment of the Cingular Cares Initiative The program will provide immediate relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina and will also establish a sustainable fund for providing assistance for future natural disasters. Cingular Cares will be a multi-million dollar effort funded through its employees, with a focus on providing assistance to its employees and others affected by natural disasters. - Text Messaging Campaign Through the SMS capability on its handsets and PDAs, many Cingular customers are being contacted and asked if they would be interested in making a contribution to the American Red Cross' hurricane relief efforts. - In-Store Collections As of September 3, Cingular's more than 2,300 stores nationwide are serving as collection points for donations to the American Red Cross. The stores will be able to accept cash, checks, credit cards or debit cards. Network Restoration Continues Progress Cingular's first priority this week has been to restore wireless service to our customers. Coverage for cell phone customers on the Cingular network in those areas hit hard by Hurricane Katrina continues to greatly improve. Service in Mobile, Jackson, Pensacola and Baton Rouge is back to normal. Crews are on the ground in New Orleans and some calls are going through in the New Orleans and Hammond areas. New Orleans continues to remain our top priority, and we have hundreds of technicians working to restore full service as quickly as possible. Restorations efforts are being executed out of the company's four staging areas located in Mobile (AL), Port Allen (LA), Lafayette and Tickfaw (LA). Emergency restoration crews are using back up generators and more than 30 COWs (Cells on Wheels) are available for use in affected areas. Since many of the remaining service outages are primarily due to power, we are working very closely with wireline and power companies. Cingular has deployed more than 500 generators and 240,000 gallons of fuel to support in restoration efforts. Customer Service Cingular is committed to supporting those individuals in those impacted areas and is reviewing its customer service practices regarding replacement equipment for water-damaged phones and billing/credits, so the company can accommodate the special needs of these customers. These include helping speed the insurance claims process for customers with equipment insurance. The company also is offering batteries and car adapters at discounted rates within those impacted markets. Sufficient inventories of equipment are on hand in our Gulf Coast stores. In addition, until the destructive situation in the Gulf has stabilized, Cingular will not be disconnecting service to those impacted customers whose service has been disrupted as a result of Hurricane Katrina and will suspend all collections activity. Going forward, Cingular will work with affected customers on a case-by-case basis to make payment arrangements. Customers with additional questions should call our Customer Care center at 1.866.CINGULAR. Please visit http://www.cingularhurricaneupdates.com/ for regular updates. About Cingular Wireless Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving 51.6 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) and BellSouth Corporation (NYSE:BLS), has the largest digital voice and data network in the nation -- the ALLOVER(SM) network -- and the largest mobile-to-mobile community of any national wireless carrier. Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover(R), 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://cingular.mediaroom.com/. DATASOURCE: Cingular Wireless CONTACT: Kelly Starling, +1-561-775-4259, or wireless, +1-561-301-1414, or , or Caroline Crowe, +1-678-867-4330, or wireless, +1-404-808-8254, or , both of Cingular Wireless Web site: http://www.cingularhurricaneupdates.com/ http://www.cingular.com/ http://cingular.mediaroom.com/

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