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Hudson Valley, NY Gets that 'Cingular' Sensation First Retail Location in Region, Network Expansion Delivers Diverse Phones, Exciting National Voice and Data Options to Region KINGSTON, N.Y., Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Cingular Wireless has arrived in the Hudson Valley! Though the company has been serving Upstate New York for 20 years, Cingular Wireless has only recently extended its operations in to the Hudson Valley, including Ulster, Dutchess, Columbia and Greene counties. This Friday, Cingular Wireless will celebrate the grand opening of the company's first store in the region, located in Kingston, NY. Consumers and businesses in Kingston, Poughkeepsie and the surrounding areas can now enjoy all the value and benefits available from the nation's second-largest wireless company, including the widest selection of handsets, nationwide calling plans, advanced wireless data services and Cingular's exclusive "Rollover" feature that lets customers save their unused minutes for future use. "Cingular Wireless is excited to expand our presence in to the Hudson Valley. We take great pride in our long standing Upstate New York heritage and in delivering a quality wireless experience to our customers, so having a local presence in this area of the state is very exciting," said Robert P. Holliday, vice president and general manager of Cingular Wireless in Upstate New York, "Our goal is to roll out products and services that offer quality and value never before seen in this area. That means compelling rate plans, extensive coverage and the latest in cutting-edge wireless devices." Cingular Services for Work and Play Customers in this region can enjoy all the benefits offered by one of the nation's largest wireless providers including true nationwide calling plans, unlimited mobile-to-mobile offers and, of course, Cingular's signature "Rollover" feature that lets customers keep their unused minutes for future use. Because Cingular Wireless has expanded its network using GSM, the world standard in wireless technology, the company is able to offer one of the widest handset arrays of any wireless carrier in the country to both pre-paid and post-paid customers. Cingular boasts a robust portfolio of consumer products, including cool, color screen phones that can take pictures or a short video clip, play MP3s, and send text and multi-media messages. Cingular Wireless customers can download ring tones and games and even use their handset to surf the internet. Integrated wireless voice and data applications for businesses large and small including increasingly popular e-mail management capability offered by the Blackberry 7290 with voice capability, has helped Cingular become the largest provider of wireless data services in the US. A Cingular Network Experience In 2004, Cingular Wireless has placed increased emphasis in the Hudson Valley, investing approximately $8 million to expand its advanced GSM/GPRS network across the Kingston/Poughkeepsie region with the objective of linking its network from the greater Albany area southward to the New York metropolitan area. More than 25% of the cell sites being added in Upstate New York this year are in the Hudson Valley. New cell sites have been added to provide coverage along major travel corridors, including the New York State Thruway (I-87), Routes 9, 9W and 9G as well as portions of Route 385, Route 32 and Route 213. Cingular has also made significant coverage enhancements at the Culinary Institute of America and Rhinebeck. The company continues to aggressively add more sites in the region this year, and expects major capital investment in 2005 as well. Cingular Wireless' 2004 investment is above and beyond the company's $124 million investment over the last two years for the implementation of an advanced voice and data network and improving coverage and capacity in Upstate New York to enhance network performance and deliver advanced wireless applications like multi-media picture messaging, wireless business e-mail services and interactive gaming. GSM is the Global System for Mobile Communications, and delivers the latest technology advances, including phones with greater functionality and unique features, high-speed data connectivity and superior sound quality. With almost 1 billion people in 200-plus countries using this technology, more than 70% of the world's total wireless market is GSM. And what GSM delivers for voice, GPRS technology delivers for data. GPRS, or General Packet Radio System, is an enhancement for GSM that transmits and receives data in packets. Cingular will celebrate the grand opening of its first company-owned retail location on October 15th at 1137 Ulster Avenue in Kingston, and Cingular service will soon be available at several agent locations at Hudson Valley Mall, Newburgh Mall and Poughkeepsie Galleria. Along with their continued expansion in the Hudson Valley area, Cingular is also in the process of rolling out a number of new initiatives that support its commitment to improving the customer experience at all points of contact. In recent months, the company has introduced simplified coverage maps and rate plans as well as self service enhancements that let customers check account information and add services right from their handsets by dialing *BAL for their balance, *MIN to check minutes, *PAY to pay their bill and *NOW to order features like text messaging packages. These and other initiatives are specifically designed to make Cingular Wireless the carrier of choice in Kingston, Poughkeepsie and the surrounding areas. About Cingular Wireless in Upstate New York In spring of 2003, Cingular announced the Upstate New York launch of its next generation network using Global System for Mobile (GSM) technology for voice, and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) for high-speed wireless data. More than 921 million people in 200 countries use this technology, which delivers a superior network, the world's widest selection of devices, and faster downloads on games, instant messaging and picture messaging. Overall, Cingular has invested more than $124 million in building this advanced wireless network in Upstate New York. 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: Alexa Graf Kaufman of Cingular Wireless, +1-301-489-3610, or wireless, +1-301-742-0888, or Web site: http://www.cingular.com/

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