BLS Bellsouth Cp

Nation's Largest Wireless Carrier Makes Significant Network Enhancements Across the State ROCKY HILL, Conn., Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Cingular Wireless customers in Connecticut now have coverage in more places. As a result of the recent merger of Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless, customers now have access to more than 600 fully-integrated cell sites statewide. Cingular announced today that the company has combined the two networks and made additional network enhancements throughout Connecticut to enhance the overall wireless experience for customers. Cingular engineers have been working to combine the two companies' national networks by choosing the best cell site locations from both existing networks, eliminating duplicate equipment, and then merging everything on a common network platform. Engineers will continue to optimize the network in the coming weeks and prepare for the company's 2006 expansion campaign, which will include the addition of nearly 65 cell sites throughout Connecticut. In fact, Cingular is expected to spend another $25 Million on additional network enhancements in the state this year. Cingular recently incorporated 292 cell sites from the former AT&T Wireless network and added 30 brand new cell sites in 2005, delivering improvements in overall call quality and coverage, both in-building and in- car, as well as at the street level coverage. The $45 million network investment campaign in Connecticut was part of Cingular's $330 million capital expenditure program in the New England network last year. "We made a large investment in network enhancements in 2005. In fact, Cingular's network improvements in Connecticut this past year alone, were the equivalent of a seven to ten year local network build for our company," said Mark Collins, Vice President and General Manager of Cingular's New England region. "We will continue to improve our network statewide in 2006 with nearly 65 new cell sites planned. This means more coverage in more places for our Connecticut customers." New cell sites have touched many corners of Connecticut, and include Cingular's mall initiative which has enhanced in-building coverage in the Meriden, Trumbull, Enfield and Crystal Malls. 2005 cell site additions by county include: - Fairfield (3) - Hartford (8) - Litchfield (8) - New Haven (8) - New London (2) - Tolland (1) And there's more to come -- in 2006, Cingular will upgrade its network to add even higher data speeds and enhanced capabilities using High-Speed Data Packet Access (HSDPA) technology. Cingular's new third-generation (3G) network is the first widely available service in the world to use HSDPA. Economic Impact In addition to the significant infrastructure investments Cingular has made throughout the state, the company owns 27 stores and kiosks in Connecticut, and also maintains extensive relationships with authorized dealers and national retailers including Radio Shack, giving customers more than 218 outlets to buy Cingular's products and services. Currently, Cingular directly employs more than 280 people throughout the state. About Cingular Wireless Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving 54.6 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between AT&T Inc., formerly SBC Communications Inc., (NYSE:T) 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 (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 . First Call Analyst: FCMN Contact: DATASOURCE: Cingular Wireless CONTACT: Kate MacKinnon of Cingular Wireless, +1-781-690-5057, or ; or Katy Donnelly, +1-704-846-1864, or , for Cingular Wireless Web site: http://www.cingular.com/ http://www.cingular.com/newsroom

Copyright