14 DAY TRIAL // After analyzing its achievements throughout 2006, Cingular Wireless expects to carry more than 500 billion minutes-of-use on its network this year. Cingular believes that the more than $13 billion dollar network investment it made over the past two years to enhance the quality and coverage of its Allover Network is the cause of all the talk by its customers. The network investment gave customers access to more than 45,000 cell sites, resulting in a substantial reduction in dropped and blocked calls as well as improved voice quality.
"It's common-sense business. If you give customers a quality product, they'll use it more often," said Ed Reynolds, president of network services for Cingular. "The investment we made is really paying off for us and our customers. People have noticed the difference and are taking full advantage of our services."
Cingular, which currently serves more than 58.7 million customers, said people are using its wireless service for longer periods - an average of 755 minutes a month, as reported at the end of last quarter. Over the course of the network enhancements, the average length of a wireless call on the Allover Network has increased as much as 15 percent in some markets.
Along with people talking more, there are more people talking. Since the network enhancements began in early 2005, Cingular increased its customer base by nearly 20 percent through the end of October 2006. Additionally, due to the enhanced quality of service experienced by customers, churn also decreased by nearly 20 percent over the same period.
"The network is the foundation of our business, now and in the future," said Reynolds. "Our focus and investment will continue to be on providing the best possible wireless experience for our customers."