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Cingular Wireless Awarded Contract to Provide Wireless Priority Service for Improved Emergency Communications in East Tennessee Local emergency response personnel and community leaders to benefit from new service KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Emergency response personnel and community leaders in East Tennessee are now able to benefit from a program that will provide improved communications in emergency situations. Cingular Wireless has been awarded a contract by the National Communications System (NCS) to provide Wireless Priority Service (WPS) to the country's authorized emergency response personnel. As part of that contract, Cingular has launched WPS throughout East Tennessee, as well as other select regions of the United States. The initial phase of WPS deployment (covering the top 25 markets in the U.S.) is complete for 2004. Total network deployment will be complete by the summer of 2005. WPS provides authorized Federal, State, and local government leaders and critical private sector leaders and decision makers with priority wireless service during times of emergency. In concert with the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS), WPS dramatically improves cellular call completion rates. In times of congestion, authorized users are moved to the front of the queue, greatly increasing their chances of call completion. At the same time, WPS is designed to have a negligible impact on everyday cellular users, providing priority service to vital decision makers without restricting the public's ability to gain access to those same networks. WPS does not enable users to preempt existing calls or to monopolize cellular services. "WPS is an extremely important tool to provide to key national security and emergency preparedness personnel during disaster and emergency situations," said Jim Thorpe, Cingular Wireless Vice President and General Manager - Tennessee/Kentucky. "Cingular recognizes how vitally important WPS is to those who must direct well-coordinated emergency responses. Cingular's commitment is to improve homeland security through our deployment of WPS." Computer Sciences Corporation, the NCS's integration contractor for the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service and the Wireless Priority Service, was responsible for the acquisition of Cingular as a participating WPS provider. The National Communications System, part of the Department of Homeland Security's Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate, consists of 23 Federal member departments and agencies and is responsible for ensuring the availability of a viable national security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) communications infrastructure. In addition to enhancing the East Tennessee network with WPS, Cingular has also enhanced the local network with the addition of 25 new cell sites so far this year, improving wireless service for residents and travelers throughout the region. The company plans to add more than 20 more new sites across East Tennessee before the year's end. These enhancements are part of a one-year, $100 million network investment in Tennessee/Kentucky that will bring nearly 150 new cell sites to the region to further improve call quality, create additional capacity and extend the network's reach. Approximately one-third of the region's total new sites are in the East Tennessee market. Additional information regarding the NCS WPS program can be obtained on the NCS website at http://wps.ncs.gov/ . About Cingular Wireless Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving more than 46 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between SBC Communications (NYSE:SBC) and BellSouth (NYSE:BLS), has the largest digital voice and data network in the nation. Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover(SM), the wireless plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Details of the company are available at http://www.cingular.com/ . Get Cingular Wireless press releases e-mailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://www.cingular.com/newsroom . 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/ http://wps.ncs.gov/ http://www.cingular.com/newsroom

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