Tuesday May 5, 12:37 pm EDT Company Press Release
Cincinnati Bell Wireless Launches Digital PCS Service
-- Features best digital coverage, most advanced wireless phone in region --
CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 5, 1998-- Cincinnati Bell Wireless (CBW) today entered the Cincinnati-Dayton-Northern Kentucky wireless phone market by launching digital PCS service, an advanced communications solution that bundles voice, paging and e-mail messaging capabilities, according to Jack Cassidy, president.
The launch is being coordinated through a management agreement with AT&T Wireless Services (AWS) the current holder of a PCS license covering the Cincinnati, Dayton and Northern Kentucky areas. As previously announced in Feb 98, AWS has agreed to transfer its PCS license to a CBW/AWS joint venture. The transfer application is on file with the Federal Communications Commission awaiting approval.
The launch in Dayton will occur later this year. The introduction provides consumers and businesses with a new choice for digital wireless service that offers better digital technology than any other carrier locally, access to the IS-136 digital wireless network in North America as a member of the AT&T Wireless Network and competitive rate plans, Cassidy said.
Today's launch coincides with the opening of three new store@Cincinnati Bell locations, increasing to six the number of Cincinnati Bell-owned retail stores offering wireless services, wireline products and services, FUSE Internet service, and DirecTV, all of which can be billed on a single Cincinnati Bell Telephone bill. In addition, the new digital PCS phone will be available locally through retailers Circuit City, Sun and Best Buy in the Tristate area.
Unequaled Digital Network
"The new service uses a state-of-the-art digital network that provides the best local digital coverage area of any carrier," said Cassidy. "Wireless customers also can use full digital services in more than 400 AT&T Wireless cities nationwide and take advantage of roaming agreements that cover more than 95 percent of the country. This gives them the best local digital coverage combined with the best national
wireless coverage."
The new digital PCS offers an array of advanced features, including Caller ID, alphanumeric and numeric paging, short e-mail messaging and VoiceMail with a Message Waiting Indicator. In addition, it provides traditional wireless telephone features, such as Call Waiting, Immediate Call Forwarding and Three-Way Conference Calling.
One of the First to Offer Dual Digital/Analog Service
Cincinnati Bell Wireless is one of the first companies nationally to offer multi-network wireless telephone service, which enables customers to place and receive calls across the U.S., Canada and Mexico wherever cellular service is available - and access their full range of advanced digital PCS features locally and whenever they are in an AT&T Wireless digital PCS market.
CBW will be the only wireless provider in the Tristate to offer the Nokia 6160 dual-mode, dual-band wireless phone, a leap forward in wireless technology.
The 6160 provides more than five hours of talk time and nearly two weeks of standby time with its Ultra Extended Li-Ion battery. This is more than ten times the battery life of any analog phone available and is significantly longer than other digital wireless phones.
The 6160 also contains the complex electronic circuitry that will allow it to act as a cordless extension to office desk phones or home phones when private and residential wireless systems are available in the future.
Lucent Technologies has provided the digital network infrastructure incorporating technologies that allow clearer, digital service to be accessed by users in cities from coast-to-coast.
Lucent used Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) technology -- also known as the IS-136 standard -- to enable users to access the premium wireless service both locally and through AT&T Wireless Services nationally. The infrastructure eqpt includes mobile switching centers and base stations using advanced voicecoders to significantly improve voice quality. The new voicecoder -- with ACELP (Algebraic Code Excited Linear Predictive) -- utilizes higher processing speeds to reconstruct the digitized bits resulting in a clearer voice connection.
Cincinnati Bell Wireless is a subsidiary of Cincinnati Bell Inc. (NYSE:CSN - news), which has served Greater Cincinnati since 1873. CBW provides digital wireless communications services to business and residential customers in a three-state area, including portions of Southwestern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeastern Indiana. To contact Cincinnati Bell Wireless, call 800-500-1CBW or visit www.cbwireless.com.
AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. is the largest digital wireless carrier in the United States and also provides messaging, wireless data and aviation communication services. AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. currently has more than 2.6 million Digital PCS customers and more than 8.4 million wireless customers overall. AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T-news), the world's leader in telecommunications services and technology.
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Contact:
Cincinnati Bell
Erik Kirkhorn, 513/397-1237
ekirkhorn@cinbell.com
Libby Korosec, 513/397-1589
ekorosec@cinbell.com
cinbellinc.com |
