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More Than 30 New Sites Added in the Area Since January NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- The nation's largest wireless carrier is growing its network and meeting the need for enhanced coverage in East Tennessee. Cingular Wireless today announced that it recently added 32 new cell sites in the area, ensuring East Tennessee customers stay connected. These new sites are some of the more than 100 new Cingular cell sites has planned for the state before the end of the year, with the majority of those sites serving Knoxville, the Tri-Cities, and surrounding areas in East Tennessee. These sites provide new or enhanced coverage for the following areas: * Along 25W east of the Sevier and Jefferson Co. line * Along Hwy. 63 between I-75 and Huntsville * Cherokee Springs, along Hwy. 107 between Waddlea and Cherokee Rd. * In southern Green County, along Hwys. 70 and 107 * Along the Green and Washington Co. line, on Hwy. 11E * Hwy. 172 between Baileytown and Greenville * The town of Baileyton and along I-81 at the Baileyton exit * In Sullivan County, along Hwy. 75 northeast of the airport * In Oakview, at I-81 and Hwy. 37 in Sullivan Co. * In Hawkins County, in Church Hill along 11W and SR 2367; in Stoney Point, along 11W and Hwy. 346; in the area immediately north of Rogersville; and along 11W between Surgoinsville and Rogersville * In Washington County, just north of Johnson City around Piney Grove * Along Boones Creek Rd., south of I-26 in Johnson City * Carter County, along Hwy. 19E north of Hampton * The area surrounding the Bristol Regional Medical Center * Enhanced coverage north and east of the Bristol Motor Speedway * East of Bristol and north of South Holston Lake, along the state line * New coverage north of Piney Flats on the Holston River * The town of Anderson, covering the highways associated with race traffic * In and around the Tri-Cities Regional Airport, and between the airport and Hwy. 11E * In Kingsport, along Hwy. 126 and John B. Dennis Hwy., at the John B. Dennis exit in south Kingsport, and in the downtown area * Lone Star Rd. and Sullivan Gardens Dr. in Sullivan Co. * Falls Branch, near Sullivan Gardens Dr. between I-81 and I-26 * The intersection of I-81 and I-26 * Along I-81 near the Memorial Blvd. exit * The downtown area and the east side of Elizabethton * Enhanced in-building coverage for downtown Jonesborough "The East Tennessee region is one of the fastest-growing in the state, with people moving to the area from across the country for its scenic beauty, good weather and economic possibilities," said Jim Thorpe, vice president and regional manager for Cingular's Tennessee and Kentucky market. "We want to provide all of our new and existing Cingular customers in the area with the best network and service possible. These new cell sites, and those we continue to build throughout the region, will help us provide that coverage to those living, working and vacationing in East Tennessee." Cingular Wireless plans to spend more than $235 million on its Tennessee network before year-end, increasing coverage and capacity, building more than 100 new cell sites, adding portable generators and back-up batteries, and offering enhanced new features. Significantly, Cingular recently launched its third-generation (3G) wireless network technology in 16 major cities, with more to follow across the country, including Knoxville. With 3G, customers will access information and applications at broadband speeds in the office, on the road or at home. The service -- via laptop data cards or 3G -- compatible phones this year-provides average mobile data connections between 400-700Kbps (kilobits per second) on the downlink and bursts to more than a megabit per second. Cingular's local investment is part of a more than $6 billion commitment to enhance and expand its ALLOVER(TM) Network nationwide this year. About Cingular Wireless Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving 55.8 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and BellSouth Corporation (NYSE:BLS), has the largest digital voice and data network in the nation-the ALLOVER(TM) network-and the largest mobile- to-mobile community of any national wireless carrier. Cingular is a leader in third generation wireless technology. Its 3G network is the first widely available service in the world to use HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology. 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 emailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://cingular.mediaroom.com/. DATASOURCE: Cingular Wireless CONTACT: Laurie Parker of Cingular Wireless, +1-615-221-3690, or wireless, +1-615-202-3463, or Web site: http://www.cingular.com/ http://cingular.mediaroom.com/

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