Cingular Wireless Prepared for 2006 Hurricane Season Along Texas Gulf Coast

May 8,2006

Cingular has a rigorous hurricane and emergency preparedness program in
place and conducts ongoing readiness drills throughout the year to ensure
network facilities and personnel are ready to go at a moment's notice.

"We hope fewer storms will come ashore this year, but our employees have
dedicated themselves year-round to ensuring we are prepared," said Andy
Shibley, Cingular's vice president and general manager for South Texas.

Cingular monitors and maintains the network 24/7. This monitoring system
allows Cingular to assess any emergency situation within minutes.

Cingular cell sites located in hurricane-prone areas like Houston, Southeast
Texas and along the Texas Gulf Coast, are equipped with permanent or
portable generators in the event of power outages, which are prevalent
during storms. Additionally, Cingular backs up its cell sites with batteries
to prevent outages related to power interruptions lasting less than eight
hours.

Cingular also has more than 50 Cells on Wheels, called "COWs," which are
self-contained mobile cell sites that can be towed or driven into an area to
provide extra call capacity or to restore communications following a
disaster. The company's "COLTs," or Cells on Light Trucks, are smaller than
COWs and can be driven where a mobile cell site is needed and include two
masts for microwave antennas.

Cingular also offers tips to help consumers understand what to expect when
they use their cell phones or other wireless devices during an emergency and
what they can do to prepare. The most important recommendation that can help
customers reach friends and loved ones during a storm is the use of text
messaging.

"We saw text messaging become an extremely useful tool in the Gulf Coast
region during and after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita," Shibley said. "Text
messaging is a reliable way to reach family and friends during severe
weather and keeps voice channels open for access to first responders on the
ground in storm-affected areas."
Text messages will often go through quicker than voice calls during an
emergency situation. More than 95 percent of Cingular phones sold today are
text message capable. Depending on your call plan, additional charges may
apply.

Cingular also encourages consumers to do the following in advance of a
storm:
- Program all of your emergency contact numbers into your cell phone,
including the police department, fire station and hospital, as well
as
your family members.

- Have a family communications plan in place. Designate someone out of
the area as a central contact, and make certain all family members
know
who to contact if they become separated.

- Keep your wireless phone batteries charged at all times. Have an
alternate plan to recharge your battery in case of power outages
(i.e.
charging via your car charger, extra cell phone batteries, use of a
disposable cell phone battery).

- Keep your wireless phone dry. The biggest threat to your device
during
a hurricane is water, so keep your equipment safe from the elements.

- Forward your home number to your wireless number in the event of an
evacuation. Since call forwarding is based out of the telephone
central
office, you will get incoming calls from your landline phone, even if
your local telephone service is disrupted at your home. In the
unlikely
event the central office is isolated, call forwarding may not work.

The following information will help customers stay in touch and maximize
their wireless service during and after the storm:
- Keep non-emergency calls to a minimum. Chances are that if there is
severe weather, many people will be attempting to place wireless
calls
to loved ones, friends and business associates. If the landline
phones
are not working, this probability increases.

- Wait 10 seconds before redialing a call. On many wireless phones, to
redial a number you simply push "send" after you've ended a call to
redial the previous number. If you do this too quickly, the data
from
the phone to the cell site does not have enough time to clear and may
contribute to network congestion.

- Use your wireless phone to access weather and news updates. Many
homes
lose power during severe weather. If you have a wireless phone that
provides access to the Internet, you can watch the latest weather and
news report.

- Use your camera phone to snap, store and send photos of damaged
property to your insurance company.

Cingular will provide updated information about its hurricane preparation at
its dedicated website: http://www.cingularhurricaneupdates.com. High
resolution photos are also available for download on the site.
About Cingular Wireless


Source: Cingular Wireless
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