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Cities include Huntsville, Madison, Florence, Decatur, Muscle Shoals, Gadsden and Tuscaloosa HUNTSVILLE, Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Cingular Wireless customers in Huntsville, Madison, Florence, Decatur, Muscle Shoals, Gadsden and Tuscaloosa now have more coverage in more places thanks to the completed integration of the AT&T Wireless and Cingular Wireless networks which added new cell sites to its local network. As a of result of the integration, customers across Central and North Alabama now enjoy the benefit of more than 135 additional cell sites leading to improvements in call quality, in-building, in-car and street level coverage. Customers in Decatur and throughout Morgan County now have access to 400% more cell sites thanks to the addition of 16 sites to its local network. Of the 16 cell sites, nine were integrated from the former AT&T Wireless network and seven new cell sites were installed. This integration is part of the company's $145 million investment in its Alabama and Northwest Florida network that includes the integration of two state-of-the-art networks and the addition of more than 29 new cell sites and 58 permanent generators across the state this year. "Now that the integration of the two networks in a majority of the state is complete, customers in these cities should experience increased coverage, improved call quality, and ability to make calls in more places," said Ron Sleeper, Director of Sales for Cingular's Central and North Alabama market. "Our network is the foundation of our business and we are continually working to make it stronger every day." The integration of the AT&T Wireless and Cingular Wireless networks involved choosing the best cell sites from both, eliminating duplicate equipment, and then placing everything on a common network platform. Now, with the completion of the network integration in Huntsville, Madison, Florence, Decatur, Muscle Shoals, Gadsden and Tuscaloosa, the two networks can "talk" to each other, establishing the call through the closest cell site and passing the call seamlessly from site to site. Cingular network technicians continue to monitor performance and conduct routine drive and walk testing to ensure the effectiveness of its enhancements. Cingular estimates -- through these programs and other initiatives -- it will drive test its network nearly 30 million miles -- the equivalent of 50 round trips to the moon. The outcome of the Alabama integration project is GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) coverage in areas where it was nonexistent or expanded and enhanced GSM coverage. GSM is the world standard for wireless communication, used by more than a billion people in 200-plus countries. Completed enhancements include: Huntsville and Madison Enhancements: 19 cell sites added through integration - Along Pulaski Pike, Memorial Parkway, Bob Wade Lane, Winchester Road, McCollough Avenue, Green Mountain Road, and Patton Road in Huntsville. - Improved coverage along Hughes and Palmer Road and Stoneway Drive. Decatur and Morgan County Enhancements: Nine cell sites added through integration and seven installed - Along Hwy 67 south of Decatur to west of Arab, south of Hwy 36 and from the Cullman/Morgan line north - Along Hwy 36 both to the east and west of Hartselle and from Danville to Morgan/Lawrence County Line - Along Hwy 36 east of Valhermoso Springs toward Lacy's Spring and Hwy 36 from I-65 to State Hwy 67 in Morgan County - Along the southeast portion of Beltline road in Decatur - Along Modaus Road west of Decatur - Along 8th Street in east Decatur - Along Alt 72 northwest of Decatur near Trinity - Along Hwy 67 north and south of Hwy 36 and along Hwy 35 east and west of Hwy 67 in Morgan County Florence and Muscle Shoals Enhancements: Three cell sites added through integration - Along Hwy 72 between Florence and Killen - Along Hwy 157 in the town of Underwood north of Florence - West of Florence along Hwy 20 Gadsden Enhancements: Six cell sites added through integration - Improved coverage along I59 north of Gadsden, along US Hwy 278, Chestnut street, Monte Vista Drive, and Sutton Bridge Road Tuscaloosa Enhancements: Five cell sites added through integration - Improved coverage along I20 east and west of Tuscaloosa - Improved coverage along I69 south of Tuscaloosa - Improved coverage along Hwy 82 in Northport About Cingular Wireless Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving 57.3 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: Dawn Benton of Cingular Wireless, +1-404-236-5305, or wireless, +1-404-202-6335, or Web site: http://www.cingular.com/ http://cingular.mediaroom.com/

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