Cingular Wireless Investing More Than $90 Million in Its Mississippi Network in 2006
29 March 2006
Cingular Wireless, the nation's largest wireless carrier, is investing more than $90 million in its Mississippi network in 2006, bringing customers improved wireless coverage, service and call quality. The company has also completed the integration of the network assets of the former AT&T Wireless in Mississippi and engineers will continue to optimize the network in the coming weeks following the completion of the integration efforts.
The 2006 investment in Cingular's Mississippi network will bring approximately 162 new cell sites, the addition of new permanent generators, the integration of the network assets of the former AT&T Wireless, and overall capacity to Cingular's ALLOVER(TM) Network, which is the nation's largest all- digital voice and data network.
"Our commitment to our local customers is to ensure they have the best wireless experience possible - which includes unmatched coverage and quality of service," said Joe Larussa, vice president & general manager, Cingular Wireless Louisiana/Alabama/Mississippi/NW Florida. "This year's investment will strengthen and expand our network reach in rural communities throughout Mississippi and boost emergency back-up power with the addition of more than 77 new generators so that our customers have access to advanced wireless services."
In 2005, Cingular invested more than $85 million in Mississippi on network improvements. Nationwide, the company spent approximately $6.5 billion on the network and will spend nearly that in 2006, bringing its overall investment since the company's 2004 acquisition of AT&T Wireless to approximately $13 billion.
Steve Sitton, Cingular's President for the Southeast Region also commented on the significance of the investment, "Last year, we invested over $1.8 billion in our network and added more than 780 cell sites in the Southeast Region alone and 2006 will be another landmark year for the Southeast and for Mississippi."
Network enhancements planned in Mississippi include:
North Mississippi:
- Tupelo and Surrounding Areas
Building ten new cell sites across Alcorn, Lee, Prentiss, Pontotoc,
Tishomingo, Calhoun and Grenada Counties.
- Greenville and Surrounding Areas
Building three new cell sites across Washington, Sunflower and Bolivar
Counties.
- Oxford and Surrounding Areas
Building 13 new cell sites and integrated 17 across Lafayette,
Yalobusha, Union and Panola Counties.
- Columbus and Surrounding Areas
Building six new cell sites across Oktibbeha, Lowndes, Montgomery and
Clay Counties.
Central Mississippi:
- Jackson, Ridgeland, Madison and Surrounding Areas
Building 21 new cell sites and integrated 43 across Northwest Smith,
Yazoo, Attala, Leake, Grenada, Rankin, Winston, Humphreys, Hinds,
Madison, Simpson, Copiah, Scott, Holmes, Carroll and Montgomery
Counties.
- Meridian and Surrounding Areas
Building six new cell sites and integrated 11 across Wayne, Lauderdale,
Newton, Kemper and Neshoba Counties.
- Vicksburg and Surrounding Areas
Building one new cell site and integrated four across Claiborne and
Warren Counties.
South Mississippi:
- Hattiesburg/Laurel and Surrounding Areas
Building 28 new cell sites and integrated 21 across Jones, Southwest
Smith, Forrest, Jasper, Lamar, Greene, Wayne, Covington and Perry
Counties.
- Natchez and Surrounding Areas
Building 25 new cell sites and integrated one across Adams, Wilkinson,
Jefferson, West Franklin and West Amite Counties.
- Brookhaven/McComb and Surrounding Areas
Building 26 new cell sites and integrated six across Lincoln, Pike,
Walthall, Marion, East Franklin, East Amite and Lawrence Counties.
- Gulfport/Biloxi and Surrounding Coastal Areas
Building 22 new cell sites and integrated 27 across Harrison, Hancock,
Jackson, George, Stone and Pearl River Counties.
Cingular earned the Most Reliable network rating among national wireless carriers in Tupelo and Meridian, Mississippi based on drive test results from a leading wireless research company that provides information, insight and performance measurements for the wireless industry. The test measured which carrier had the fewest number of dropped, blocked and incomplete calls.
By the end of the first quarter of 2006, Cingular will have completed the AT&T Wireless network integration in more than 80 percent of its Southeast cities. In Mississippi, the integration is complete and optimization will continue over the next few weeks. The process involved choosing the best cell sites from both networks, eliminating duplicate equipment, and combining the technologies onto a common network platform. Customers across the region should experience fewer dropped and blocked calls and improved overall quality of service.
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 measure the effectiveness of its network enhancements by drive and walk testing approximately one million miles per year throughout the Gulf States.
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/
Source: prnewswire
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