Having just completed an aggressive upgrade to its extensive Georgia network in August, Cingular Wireless has unveiled phase two of its plan to deliver wireless service to customers throughout the state.

With the addition of more than 200 new cell sites, the phase two $80 million network build-out will bring even greater coverage and enhanced service to Cingular’s Georgia customers.

Cingular already spent more than $200 million this year implementing an voice and data network and improving coverage and capacity in the state. Overall, the Atlanta-based company has invested more than $1.3 billion in its wireless network in Georgia.

“Consumers have become more and more dependent on wireless service for all aspects of their lives, both business and personal, “said Mike Orchard, vice president and general manager for Cingular Wireless Georgia. “Clearer, higher quality calls, faster data speeds, and comprehensive coverage are essential in meeting consumers’ wireless needs today. And that’s what we are focused on delivering.”

This network expansion will increase the number of coverage and capacity cell sites the company has throughout the state. Nearly half of the new sites are projected to be operational by the end of the year with the expansion to continue through 2004.

Some of the counties targeted for the new sites are Carroll, Polk, Floyd, Whitfield, Crawford, Cherokee, Gordon, Haralson, Gilmer, Fannin, Coweta, Union, Habersham, White and Lumpkin counties. The company is also adding sites in the Metro Atlanta area to increase coverage and capacity.

“We have worked hard to serve Georgia for the past 20 years, and we believe our customers chose Cingular because they have the highest expectation for their wireless service and it’s our commitment to make sure we deliver this, “said Orchard. “Now that we have completed our transition to the advanced GSM/GPRS network, we can focus our resources on vastly improving coverage, and we will continue to improve our network to ensure our customers’ continued satisfaction.”

In August, Cingular announced its advanced GSM/GPRS network in Georgia which gives customers technology advances, including phones with greater functionality and unique features, high-speed data connectivity and stellar sound quality. GSM is the Global Systems for Mobile Communications. With 880 million people in 179 countries using this technology, more than 70 percent of the world’s total wireless market is GSM.

Cingular: www.cingular.com