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Cingular Wireless Grows With Spring Hill New cell sites mean clearer, high-quality calls for rapidly growing area NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Cingular Wireless recently activated three new cell sites in the Spring Hill/Thompson Station area. These sites provide enhanced wireless service for the residents and commuters of these rapidly growing communities. * The Spring Hill site, located just north of the Saturn Plant, improves service three ways -- better in-building coverage, enhanced coverage along Highways 31, 246 and 247 and the roads that run off them and increased coverage on the Saturn campus. * The new Thompson Station site provides enhanced coverage north of the Saturn plant along Highway 31 improving signal strength east to Gary Lake and north just past the West Harpeth River. * Duplex Road, located just east of the intersection of I-65 and Duplex Road, rounds out the cluster and enhances coverage at the interchange of I-65 and Saturn Parkway. It also enhances service east of I-65 on Highway 431 providing residents and businesses in this booming area with a quality wireless experience. "Cingular continues to go beyond the big cities and Interstates to provide our customers with an advanced network that gives them the ability to make a call when they want and where they want," said Jim McHargue, Director of Sales for Cingular Wireless - Middle Tennessee. "Cingular is committed to making its great network even better with ongoing network enhancements that allow us to grow and expand with the communities we serve." Having just completed an aggressive upgrade to its extensive Tennessee/Kentucky network in 2003, Cingular is moving forward with plans to deliver world-class wireless service to customers throughout the region. Last year, Cingular spent almost $1 million a week -- more than $51 million total -- deploying its advanced voice and data GSM/GPRS network and improving coverage and capacity throughout the region. GSM, or Global Systems for Mobile Communications, is the world standard for wireless communications. Almost 1 billion people in 200 countries use this technology which delivers a superior network, the widest selection of phones, and advanced data applications, such as faster downloads on games, instant messaging and picture messaging. GPRS is an enhancement for GSM core networks that introduces packet data and provides users with "always-on" connectivity and greater bandwidth and connection speed. Since 2000, Cingular has invested $200 million expanding and enhancing the Tennessee/Kentucky network. "We have worked hard to serve Tennessee/Kentucky for the past 20 years, and we believe our customers chose Cingular because they have the highest expectation for their wireless service. It's our commitment to make sure we deliver this," said McHargue. "Now that our transition to an advanced voice and data network is complete, we are focusing our resources on increasing coverage, particularly in residential areas and in-building locations throughout the region." Cingular recently opened its first Spring Hill retail store at 5002 Spedale Court next to the Kroger shopping center. Customers can demo the widest array of GSM phones and devices that come in an assortment of colors, shapes and sizes to complement Cingular's innovative plans and services. GSM phones also incorporate everyday conveniences, such as built-in cameras, radios and MP3 players. Additionally, all GSM phones contain SmartChip technology, that lets customers transfer personal profiles and calling information from phone to phone, so there's no need to reprogram phone lists or message logs when changing GSM phones. 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 Web site: http://www.cingular.com/

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