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Cingular Wireless Dedicates Kentucky Retail Space to Products for Small Businesses and Mobile Professionals Xpress Mail(TM) with BlackBerry(R) Goes Retail; 22 Stores in the Kentucky to Feature New Section and Live Products LOUISVILLE, Ky., June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Due to increased demand among small businesses and mobile professionals, Cingular Wireless today announced it is dedicating retail space to products for SOHO (Small Office, Home Office) customers in some of its Kentucky stores. The new display walls feature Cingular's flagship wireless e-mail and phone offering, Xpress Mail(TM) with the BlackBerry 6280(TM) and BlackBerry 7280(TM) wireless handhelds. These latest additions to Cingular's business products line-up are now available through more than 6,000 Cingular company-owned retail stores and retail agent outlets nationwide. Twenty-two select locations in Kentucky are now featuring the new small business section and live data wall. The retail sections are easy to spot thanks to new customized signage and wall displays featuring "live" business devices which allow customers to test these products on the spot. Citing the need for increased and easier access to wireless products that help make their businesses more competitive and more productive, Cingular designed the new space to allow small business customers to quickly and easily find business voice and data products. In addition, Cingular's advanced offerings for small businesses have increased dramatically and will continue to expand reflecting the priority the company places on this business segment. For example, according to International Data Corporation (IDC), 16 percent of small and medium businesses in the U.S. intend to purchase a "smart" handheld device that handles both voice and e-mail services in 2004. IDC also reports that small- and medium-sized businesses spend on average $286 per month on wireless services and prefer to buy their telecommunications products from retail outlets. "Many small business owners and mobile professionals are extremely tech- savvy and rely on technology to give them a competitive edge," said Jim Thorpe, vice president and general manager, Cingular Wireless- Tennessee/Kentucky. "Providing dedicated retail space featuring the products they need will allow us to meet those needs quickly, easily and conveniently." Business Products Some of those products include the BlackBerry 6280(TM) and BlackBerry 7280(TM). These wireless handhelds combine top-of-the-line voice features, including conference calling and international roaming, and data services such as text messaging, e-mail access, calendars and to-do lists. The BlackBerry 6280 and BlackBerry 7280 are tri-band (1900/1800/850 MHz) handheld devices developed by Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM). These devices work seamlessly on Cingular's 1900 and 850 MHz GSM/GPRS networks, giving Xpress Mail with BlackBerry customers access to the best integrated voice and data coverage in the country. Because BlackBerry handhelds maintain a constant connection to Cingular's wireless network, customers don't have to "dial up" to get their e-mail. Cingular customers using BlackBerry can view e-mail attachments and wirelessly reconcile e-mail messages between their PCs and BlackBerry handhelds. BlackBerry handhelds also allow customers to dial and e-mail from within an existing message. Customers can click on a telephone number or e-mail address received in a message to automatically create an e-mail or place a phone call. The retail offering of BlackBerry features BlackBerry Web Client(TM) is a convenient Internet-based solution (no server software required) that enables customers who use MS Exchange and Lotus Domino at the office to access their corporate e-mail. BlackBerry Web Client also supports up to 10 Internet Service Provider (ISP) e-mail accounts from a single handheld. Corporate e-mail access with very low overhead makes Xpress Mail with BlackBerry ideal for smaller business customers who may not wish to purchase, install and support a dedicated wireless e-mail server. Pricing for BlackBerry service begins at $29.99 per month for three MB of e-mail to unlimited e-mail for $44.99, for customers with a Cingular voice plan. E-mail-only plans are available from $34.99 for three MB of e-mail and $49.99 for unlimited e-mail. Pricing for the BlackBerry 6280 handheld starts as low as $249 with a two-year contract. Pricing for the BlackBerry 7280 handheld starts at $349 with a two-year contract. For more information about the new BlackBerry handhelds, please visit Cingular Wireless' website at http://www.cingular.com/ or a local retail location. Store locations in these cities feature the new displays: - Louisville - Lexington - Frankfort - Evansville - Owensboro - Paducah - Bowling Green - Madisonville - Murray - Pikeville - Corbin 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: Calie Shackleford of Cingular Wireless, +1-615-221-3690, or Cell, +1-615-319-5599, or Web site: http://www.cingular.com/

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