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PRESS RELEASE: Cingular Wireless Adds Cell Sites in Brevard, Orange and Sarasota Counties

ORLANDO, Fla., March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The nation's largest wireless carrier continues to build out its Florida network. The company today announced it has turned on three new cell sites in Central and West Florida. The sites are part of a $360 million investment by Cingular this year in its Florida network.
The new cell sites are enhancing coverage: - In the towns of South Venice and Manasota Key and along U.S. 41 and C.R. 776, between South Venice and Manasota in Sarasota County; - At Patrick Air Force Base and on the beaches along A-1-A between Cocoa Beach and Satellite Beach in Brevard County; and - On the southern and eastern portions of the University of Central Florida campus, as well as in Research Park and along Research Parkway and Alafaya Trail in Orange County.
"It's all about the network, and we continuously invest in ours to ensure our customers enjoy a wireless experience second-to-none in the industry," said Dan Norman, vice president and general manager for Cingular's North Florida market, which covers southwest Florida across the state north to Panama City and just over the Georgia line. "Last year, we spent more than $200 million on network enhancements in Central, West and North Florida, and this year we're investing more than $235 million in those areas."

Cingular's 2006 investment in Florida includes the integration of the AT&T Wireless and Cingular networks, scheduled to be completed in North Florida by the end of this quarter. The integration process involves choosing the best cell sites from both networks, eliminating duplicate equipment, and combining technologies onto a common network platform. Once integration is completed in the North Florida market, Cingular customers will have access to nearly 42 percent more cell sites.
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 www.cingular.com. Get Cingular Wireless press releases e-mailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://cingular.mediaroom.com SOURCE Cingular Wireless
/CONTACT: Kelly Layne Starling of Cingular Wireless, [phone], or wireless, [phone]
/Web site: http://www.cingular.com /Web site: http://cingular.mediaroom.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-14-06 0910ET