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$65 Million in Network Enhancement Initiatives Pay Off in Northern Ohio Cingular Wireless Completes 156 New Cell Sites to Network; 15 Ohio Counties and 2 Pennsylvania Counties to Benefit CLEVELAND, Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Cingular Wireless announced that it plans to activate 170 new cell sites by year's end in northern Ohio, significantly enhancing service for residents and travelers throughout the area. These enhancements are part of a two-year, $65 million network investment in Cleveland that will further enhance Cingular's GSM network in the region thereby improving call quality, adding capacity and extending the network's reach. "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 Dave Fine, Director of Sales for Cingular Wireless - Northern Ohio. "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." The sites activated so far this year enhance service in the following areas: Northeast Ohio Ashtabula County - New coverage in Ashtabula, Conneaut, Geneva, Saybrook Township, and Jefferson. Columbiana County - Enhanced coverage in Salem, and the town of Columbiana. Cuyahoga County - Enhanced coverage in downtown Cleveland, East Cleveland, University Circle, Cleveland Heights, Glenwillow, Shaker Heights, Bedford, Pepper Pike, Parma, Garfield, Hopkins Airport, and Berea. Geauga County - Enhanced coverage in Bainbridge, Punderson State Park, Munson, Hamden, Chardon, Burton, Auburn, and Newbury. Lake County - Enhanced coverage in Mentor, Mentor-on-the-Lake, Painesville, Madison, Kirtland, Willowick, and Willoughby. Mahoning County - Enhanced coverage in Austintown, Woodworth, Poland, and Boardman. Medina County - Enhanced coverage in Brunswick, and Medina. Portage County - Enhanced coverage in Ravenna, and Twin Lakes/Kent. Stark County - Enhanced coverage in Marlboro Township, Massillon, Canton, Navarre, North Industry, Louisville, and Alliance. Summit County - Enhanced coverage in Akron, Copley Township, Walton Hills, Northfield, Tallmadge, Green, and Twinsburg. Trumbull County - Enhanced coverage in Warren, Cortland, Hubbard, and Howland. Central Ohio Ashland County - Enhanced coverage in Hayesville and Route 30. Erie County - Enhanced coverage in Sandusky, Huron, and Castalia. Lorain County - Enhanced coverage in Lorain, Penfield; Lagrange, downtown Elyria, and Elyria Airport. Wayne County - New coverage in Orrville, Wooster, Smithville, and Burbank. Eastern Pennsylvania Erie County - New coverage along I-90 to the New York border; new coverage in downtown Erie, Presque Isle, and the Erie Airport. Mercer County - New coverage in Sharon. "Network quality is a major criteria for customers who are choosing a wireless provider," added Fine. "Clearer, higher-quality calls, faster data speeds, and extensive coverage are essential in meeting consumers' wireless needs today. And that's what we are focused on delivering." 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 is the largest provider of GSM services in the United States, and has a 100 percent digital GSM/GPRS footprint across its service area. It also launched the world's first commercial deployment of wireless services using Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology. Cingular also 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: Silvia Manrique of Cingular Wireless, +1-847-765-5136, or cell, 312-504-5005, or Web site: http://www.cingular.com/

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