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Cingular: Wireless merger won't affect local customers right away

Posted on: Thursday, 19 February 2004, 06:00 CST

If the planned merger between Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless goes through, the firms' local customers likely won't see any immediate changes to their cell phone service.

But in the long run, the merger will mean increased coverage areas and better call quality, as well as a wider variety of phone choices, Cingular spokeswoman Dawn Benton said. It's too early to tell how the merger could affect rate plans, she said.

Atlanta-based Cingular this week won a bidding war to acquire AT&T Wireless Services for $41 billion in cash, a deal that would create the nation's largest cell phone company. If the deal is approved, the merged company would keep the Cingular name.

The companies' networks are compatible, as both are switching to a technology known as global system for mobile communications, or GSM, Benton said. The technology is used by more than 70 percent of the world's networks, meaning Cingular customers could use their phones in many overseas locations.

A joint venture between SBC Comm-unications and BellSouth, Cingular now has more than 23 million subscribers. The company doesn't disclose the number of customers it has in specific markets.

In South Carolina, there are more than 200 stores carrying Cingular products and services, including company-owned stores, agent locations and kiosks, Benton said. The company has stores and offers service in York, Chester and Lancaster counties.

Rock Hill-based Comporium Comm-unications is one of several local companies that is licensed to offer Cingular service. Comporium has eight stores in Rock Hill, Fort Mill and Lancaster.

In the long term, the merger should have positive effects for Cingular customers, with new services such as wireless Internet access, said Glenn McFadden, Comporium's senior vice president of operations.

AT&T Wireless doesn't have any South Carolina stores and doesn't provide network coverage in the state, a spokesman said. AT&T uses local wireless providers to offer "roaming" service to AT&T customers who want to make calls from South Carolina.

If the merger is approved by AT&T Wireless shareholders and regulators, the combined company would have 46 million subscribers - enough to pull ahead of the current No. 1 U.S. cell phone company, Verizon Wireless, with a customer base of 37.5 million.

Verizon officials aren't concerned about the possibility of falling to the No. 2 rank, however.

More wireless customers are already choosing Verizon over both Cingular and AT&T Wireless, said Jerry Fountain, president of Verizon's Carolinas-Tennessee region. In the fourth quarter of 2003, about 1.5 million new customers joined Verizon, while Cingular and AT&T combined brought in about half that number, he said.

Verizon has about 700 outlets in the Carolinas and Tennessee and requires its independent agents to sell Verizon exclusively.

"We will continue to focus on what has made us successful - building the best network and providing the best customer service," Fountain said.

Contact Caroline Brustad at 329-4082 or cbrustad@heraldonline.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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