Cingular Wireless Investing $88 Million in its Greater Detroit Network in 2006
17 Juillet 2006 - 11:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
* New Cell Sites, Enhanced Voice/Data Quality and Capacity for
ALLOVER(TM) Network DETROIT, July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Cingular
Wireless, the nation's largest wireless carrier, is investing $88
million in its network in the Greater Detroit area in 2006,
bringing customers even more wireless services, call quality and
coverage on the road, at the office, and in their homes. The 2006
investment in Cingular's Michigan network will bring over 80 new
cell sites, high-speed data services, the addition of portable and
permanent generators, the integration of over three hundred cell
sites -- network assets of the former AT&T Wireless -- and
other enhancements to Cingular's ALLOVER(TM) Network, which is the
nation's largest all-digital voice and data network. This
investment builds upon Cingular's 2005 Michigan network investment
of more than $60 million. Nationwide, the company spent $6.5
billion on its network in 2005 and plans to do the same in 2006,
bringing its overall network investment since the company's 2004
acquisition of AT&T Wireless to more than $13 billion. "Our
ongoing focus is ensuring Cingular customers have the best wireless
experience possible -- which includes unmatched coverage and
quality of service," said Brian Ducharme, vice president &
general manager, Cingular Wireless-Indiana and Michigan. "We are
spending an average of $240,000 a day to enhance service in this
area in an effort to bring residents of Detroit the highest quality
Cingular service available ever -- service that is enhanced by
best-in-industry calling plan value and cutting-edge devices."
Network enhancements planned for 2006 in Michigan include: *
Additional cell sites for the core areas of Grand Rapids, Lansing,
and Kalamazoo, Michigan * Improved service for Midland, MI and
south of Jackson through Adrian, MI. * 3G UMTS deployment across
the Detroit metro area late summer 2006. * Enhanced coverage in and
around Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions. * Improved coverage
along the M-21 Highway, from Lowell to Fowler. * New coverage for
residents and visitors in southern Grand Rapids and Caledonia. *
Expanded coverage to Muskegon, Kalamazoo (home of Western Michigan
University) and Battle Creek (Cereal City USA). * Expanded coverage
to the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston. Significantly,
Cingular recently launched its third-generation (3G) wireless
network technology in 16 major cities, with more to follow across
the country. With 3G, customers will access information and
applications at broadband speeds in the office, on the road or at
home. The service -- via laptop data cards or 3G-compatible phones
this year -- provides average mobile data connections between
400-700Kbps (kilobits per second) on the downlink with bursts to
more than a megabit per second. "There's never been a better time
to make the move to Cingular," says Ducharme. "We have an improved
network, new Push-To-Talk devices, a "no questions asked" return
policy -- 30 days on both service and equipment and right now
special offers just for greater Detroit customers." Network Testing
Cingular diligently monitors the quality and coverage of its
network. In addition to third-party vendors who assess the
company's network performance, Cingular network engineers
constantly monitor the network, driving approximately 450,000 miles
of highway across Indiana and Michigan each year to ensure our
network is operating at peak efficiency. That's equivalent to more
than 17 trips around the world. Enhancing the Customer Experience
Thanks to its advanced network, Cingular customers use the best
services that wireless can offer. For example, customers can choose
from an exciting array of wireless devices including the recently
launched Motorola SLVR, Cingular's second handset capable of
downloading iTunes directly from a PC. Another of many innovative
services available is Cingular Sounds Live, which will utilize the
company's on-demand streaming video service, Cingular Video(TM), so
that customers can watch concert highlights on their 3G- compatible
wireless phones. Additionally the company offers an interactive
mapping tool available at all retail locations and by calling
1-866-CINGULAR. The tool provides customers with up-to-date
wireless coverage information and is designed to answer a
customer's specific wireless coverage questions based on an
address, street intersection, zip code or even a landmark. This
tool will soon be available online to current Cingular customers
and to those shopping for cellular service. For more information
about Cingular, call 1-866-CINGULAR or visit
http://www.cingular.com/ About Cingular Wireless Cingular Wireless
is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving 54.1
million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between AT&T Inc.,
formerly SBC Communications Inc., (NYSE:T), and BellSouth
Corporation (NYSE: BLS), has the largest digital voice and data
network in the nation-the ALLOVER(TM) network-and the largest
mobile-to-mobile community of any national wireless carrier.
Cingular is a leader in third generation wireless technology. Its
3G network is the first widely available service in the world to
use HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology. Cingular
is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover(R), 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://cingular.mediaroom.com/. DATASOURCE: Cingular Wireless
CONTACT: Tara Traycoff of Cingular Wireless, +1-314-543-6435, or
wireless, +1-314-809-6112, or Web site: http://www.cingular.com/
http://cingular.mediaroom.com/
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