Cingular Enhances Western Carolinas Coverage With Seven New Cell Sites

Network build-out part of $385 million Carolinas investment

GREENVILLE, S.C. /PRNewswire/ - The nation's largest wireless carrier is growing its network and enhancing coverage in the Western Carolinas. Cingular Wireless has added seven new cell sites in the area, ensuring its customers stay connected.

These new cell sites are part of Cingular's $385 million investment in North and South Carolina, which includes building more than 300 new cell sites, enhancing wireless service for those who live, work and vacation in the region.

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

-- In Madison and Yancey Counties, along Hwy. 19 northeast of Mars Hill,
towards Burnsville.
-- In Mitchell County, northeast of Asheville, along Hwys. 19 and 226 and
in the town of Spruce Pine.
-- Southwest of Greenville, in the growing residential areas near Golden
Grove and Piedmont.
-- South of Westminster and Seneca in Oconee County, near growing
residential areas in Oakway and Tokeena, along Hwys. 24, 59 and 11.
-- In McDowell County, east of Asheville, along Hwy. 70 including the town
of Marion.
-- South of Spartanburg and east of Greenville, along I-26 and SC-92 to
the east of Enoree.
-- Southeast of Greenville, in the rural area south of Laurens and east of
Hwy. 221."These seven new cell sites will provide both residents and visitors to the Western Carolinas 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 customers the best wireless service possible."

Cingular Wireless expects to build more than 300 new cell sites in the Carolinas in 2006, increasing coverage and capacity, adding portable generators and back-up batteries, and offering enhanced new features. Significantly, Cingular recently launched its third-generation (3G) wireless network technology in 145 major metropolitan areas, including 65 of the top 100 largest cities in 33 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC. This includes Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Greensboro and Columbia, 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-provides average mobile data connections between 400-700Kbps (kilobits per second) on the downlink and bursts to more than a megabit per second. Nationwide, the company spent $6.5 billion on its network last year and is doing the same in 2006, bringing its overall investment to enhance and expand its ALLOVERT™ network to more than $13 billion since the company's 2004 acquisition of AT&T Wireless.