Cingular Enhances Wireless Network With Seven New Cell Sites in Eastern North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The nation's largest wireless carrier has enhanced coverage in Eastern North Carolina with the addition of seven new cell sites to its network, helping its customers stay connected.

These new cell sites are some of the more than 300 new Cingular cell sites planned for North and South Carolina before the end of 2006. The company has already added more than 200 new cell sites across the Carolinas in the last nine months, enhancing wireless service for those who live, work and play in the region.

These new sites enhance Cingular's network coverage in the following areas:

* In Brunswick County, southwest of Wilmington, improving coverage along Hwy. 87 and for the residents of Boiling Springs. * In Duplin County, along I-40 near the town of Magnolia. * In Johnston and Wake Counties, enhancing coverage west of Hwy. 39 between Zebulon and Smithfield. * In Vance County north of Raleigh, enhancing coverage for the residential areas east of Henderson. The new sites also provide new coverage for these areas: * In Columbus County, providing new coverage for residential areas south of Whiteville. * In Scotland County, providing new coverage along U.S. Hwy. 501 between Laurinburg and Rowland. * In Harnett County, southwest of Raleigh, providing new coverage for residential areas along Hwy. 27 between Lillington and Olivia.

"These seven new cell sites will provide both residents and visitors to the Eastern part of our state with a better network, better coverage, and better service," said Alison Hall, vice president and general manager for Cingular's North and South Carolina market. "Cingular is adding new cell sites in the Carolinas almost daily, and these new sites are part of that effort to bring our Carolinas customers the best wireless service possible."

Cingular Wireless plans to spend more than $385 million on its Carolinas network before year-end, increasing coverage and capacity, building more than 300 new cell sites, adding portable generators and back-up batteries, and offering enhanced new features. Significantly, Cingular recently launched its third-generation (3G) wireless network technology in 16 major cities, with more to follow across the country, including launches coming soon in Charlotte, Raleigh, Columbia and Greensboro. 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 400-700 Kbps (kilobits per second) on the downlink and bursts to more than a megabit per second. Cingular's local investment is part of a more than $6 billion commitment to enhance and expand its ALLOVER(R) network nationwide this year.

About Cingular Wireless

Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving 57.3 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corporation , has the largest digital voice and data network in the nation-the ALLOVER(R) 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 emailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://cingular.mediaroom.com/.