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Cingular Sets New Standards in Customer Service in New York Initiatives are part of company's ongoing commitment to delivering customer service that meets or exceeds 'Seal of Wireless Quality' standards NEW YORK, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Cingular Wireless, the first nationwide wireless carrier awarded the right to use the "Seal of Wireless Quality," is once again showing its commitment to its customers. The company is announcing three new customer service enhancements for New York City and Northern New Jersey customers including the Cingular Service Summary, which provides customers with a personalized summary of their service plan; *(Star) Services, which allows customers to quickly access important account information from their wireless phone; and a new, simplified monthly bill format. "At Cingular, we are constantly looking for ways to improve the 'Customer Experience,'" said Scott Cecil, Vice President and General Manager of Cingular's New York City Metro region. "Each of these enhancements addresses issues and suggestions that customers or employees have shared with us. These programs reflect our commitment to providing customers with products and services that are simple-to-use and easy-to-understand." Cingular Service Summary Cingular has launched the "Cingular Service Summary" program in New York City to provide customers with a clear, personalized summary of their service plan within minutes of signing up for service. The summary gives new customers a re-cap of important information about their new service, a simulated first bill with estimated charges, an example of an ongoing bill, color-coded coverage maps specific to their calling plan, and other details about the terms of service. The service is being introduced in May in the New York City area. *(Star) Services Also in May, Cingular launched *Services, providing customers fast and easy access to important account information, directly from their wireless phone. *Services is designed to meet the needs of Cingular customers who want a quick and easy means to access and manage their wireless accounts. By simply dialing the appropriate "star code," Cingular customers can have their current account balance and/or remaining minutes delivered to their phone via a text message. *Services also allows customers to enter a star code to make a bill payment using an interactive voice response (IVR) feature. The star codes are: *BAL# (*225#) to receive an update on outstanding balance *MIN# (*646#) to receive an update on remaining minutes *PAY (*729) to use the IVR feature to make a payment Simplified Bill Format Additionally, beginning in May, New York City customers will receive a new, improved and simplified monthly bill format that is designed to increase customer satisfaction while reducing questions about billing-related issues. The new format, based on input from customers and employee focus groups, better categorizes vital account information and moves the most relevant billing data to the first page of the bill. Finally, in a further effort to meet its customers' needs, customers may elect to receive items such as their contract and customer bills in a Spanish language format. In June, the Cingular Service Summary will also be available in Spanish. In September, Cingular was one of several wireless carriers to adopt the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) Consumer Code for Wireless Service. Cingular was the first nationwide wireless carrier to be deemed in compliance with all aspects of the code, and thus was awarded the right to use the "Seal of Wireless Quality" in its advertising and store collateral. Please visit http://www.cingular.com/about/consumer_code for more information about the code and Cingular's commitment to its principles. For more information about Cingular, please contact 866-CINGULAR or visit http://www.cingular.com/nyc . About Cingular Wireless Cingular Wireless, a joint venture between SBC Communications (NYSE:SBC) and BellSouth (NYSE:BLS), serves more than 25 million voice and data customers across the United States. A leader in mobile voice and data communications, Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover(SM), the wireless plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Cingular has launched the world's first commercial deployment of wireless services using Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology. Cingular provides cellular/PCS service in 43 of the top 50 markets nationwide, and provides corporate e-mail and other advanced data services through its GPRS, EDGE and Mobitex packet data networks. Details of the company are available at http://www.cingular.com/ . DATASOURCE: Cingular Wireless CONTACT: Katy Hudnall of Ketchum, +1-646-935-4061, or , for Cingular Wireless Web site: http://www.cingular.com/ http://www.cingular.com/about/consumer_code http://www.cingular.com/nyc

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