ATLANTA, July 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Cingular Wireless today refuted the points made in a lawsuit filed against the company by the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.
"This lawsuit is completely without merit," said Joaquin Carbonell, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Cingular Wireless. "Cingular has spent nearly $10 billion in integrating and improving its networks in the 21 months since the merger was completed, leading to a significantly improved customer experience and the fewest dropped calls of any national carrier.
"Separately, we are considering our options with respect to the false and misleading statements made to the media by the lawyer that brought this case," said Carbonell.
Among the improvements made by Cingular:
-- Broader coverage: Within days after the merger closed, Cingular opened
access to both the Cingular and AT&T Wireless networks -- including
TDMA -- to further improve coverage, offering home-on-home roaming,
giving customers access to more than 45,000 cell sites -- almost twice
the number of cell sites either company's customers had before the
merger. This action gave Cingular and AT&T Wireless customers access
to more cell sites without roaming charges in more areas than ever
before.
Cingular has since completed integration of the AT&T Wireless and
Cingular TDMA networks, resulting in customers having access to more
cell sites and broader coverage than either company had before the
merger. Today, the company is hard at work integrating its GSM
networks, with completion targeted for later this year. In fact,
Cingular invested $6.5 billion in network integration and upgrades
last year alone and intends to spend a similar amount this year.
-- Fewer dropped calls: Cingular's GSM network has the fewest dropped
calls of any national wireless carrier, as determined by information
provided by one of the most reputable and well-respected independent
wireless research firms in the country.
-- Improved capabilities: After the merger closed, customers could make
unlimited mobile-to-mobile calls to any Cingular or AT&T Wireless
customer, saving them money. Network improvements have also allowed
the company to add dozens of new advanced services, like listening to
music and watching video. In addition, the company is currently in
the process of deploying wireless broadband services and will complete
the deployment in most of the top 100 markets by the end of the year.
-- Fewer complaints: Call rates to Cingular call centers have declined
by more than 30 percent in the last 18 months and are at their lowest
level ever. Complaints to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC),
the Better Business Bureau (BBB), state attorneys general and state
public utility commissions are down as well. Over the last two
quarters, our FCC complaints have fallen 53 percent while the rest of
the wireless industry's FCC complaints have fallen only 4 percent.
-- Improved churn: The company's overall churn rate (percentage of
customers leaving the company monthly) has continued to decline --
from 2.6 percent (pro forma) in the merger quarter (4Q04) to
1.9 percent in 1Q06.
-- Customer satisfaction: Cingular's customer satisfaction levels, based
on information provided to the company by one of the industry's most
reputable research firms, is at its highest level ever, improving more
than 14 percentage points since the quarter when the companies merged
and moving Cingular from fourth to second place in the category.
About Cingular Wireless
Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving 55.8 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(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 emailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://cingular.mediaroom.com/ .
