With subscribers reaching numbers in excess of 57 million, Cingular Wireless is the United States largest mobile telephone company. Claiming to have the country’s largest digital voice and data network, Cingular covers America’s ‘top 100 markets’ (Cingular. Raising the Bar. 1 P.1). Cingular Wireless was launched in 2001 and started out as a joint venture between AT&T and Bellsouth collectively known as SBC Communications. Out of this union Cingular emerged following the amalgamation of 11 regional companies, inclusive of BellSouth Mobility, BellSouth Mibility DCS Cellular One, Houston Cellular, BellSouth Wireless Data, Southwestern Bell Wireless, Pacific Bell Wireless, Nevada Bell Wireless, Ameritech Cellularr, SNET and SBC Wireless.
Cingular markets its services on the strength of its technological innovations. Its most widely used technology is the relatively new and innovative Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM). Another data network run by Cingular is the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution (EDGE) which provides an upgrade for enhanced speed. With these new technologies, Cingular is poised to discontinue its analog and TDMA networks by the year 2008, although customers subscribing to these networks can continue the service for an additional monthly fee of US$5.00 (Fritchard. August 1, 2006. p.1).
With aggressive ad campaigns predicated almost entirely on the strength of technology, Cingular scrapped its paging service as it makes room for further technological development. The paging service Velocita Wireless was purchased by Sprint Nextel (Sprint Nextel Completes Acquisition of Velocita Wireless. February, 28, 2006 p.1).
Cingular launched a marketing strategy called Project Genesis in 2002. Project Genesis encompassed an overlay of the total GSM/GPRS wireless network. By the end of 2004, Project Genesis was completed.
A merger and amalgamation pattern appears to be the new economic trend among wireless services and Cingular is no exception. In February of 2004 Cingular announced plans to purchase AT&T for the sum of US$41 billion. This announcement followed a bidding exchange between Cingular and Great Britain S Vodafone PLC. By October 16, 2004, the merger was complete and the two companies together controlled a costumer base in excess of 46 million positioning Cingular as the largest U.S. wireless provider.
Continuing with its innovative and technological based marketing campaigns, Cingular takes pains to keep up with its fiercest rival. Cingular commenced ‘BroadbandConnect’, a high-speed based on a combination of UMTS and High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA). The BroadbandConnect is Cingualr’s method of competing with the EV-DO programs launched by both Verizon Wireless and Sprint. Cingular launched its BroadbandConnect on December 6th, 2005 with the package devuting in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, San Jose, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Austin, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Boston, Baltimore and Washington D.C. Cingular promises to expand the BroadbandConnect to all major metropolitan areas with the United States by the end of this year.
Network sharing is another business strategy common among competing wireless companies. In this vien, Cingular has previously shared a GSM-1900 network in California, Nevada, New Jersey and New York with T-Mobile. This joint enterprise was known as GSM Facilities. Obviously, following the acquisition of AT&T Wireless made network sharing with T-Mobile redundant and on May 25, 2004 the partnership was severed. The advantage of the network sharing with T-Mobile was that it permitted Cingular to provide its services in North New Jersey and the New York City areas, while permitting T-Mobile to provide services in California and Nevada (Cingular. Raising the Bar.(1) P.1).
Cingular, in appreciating the importance of it market segment in the United States, Cingular is abandoning its market in territories outside of the United States. On June 23rd, 2005, Cingular Wireless went public with the intention to dispose of its operations in the Caribbean and Bermuda and made plans to sell out to an Irish business concern (Digicel to Acquire Cingular ‘s Caribbean Wireless Operations. June 23rd, 2005 p.1). The wireless operations situated in the Caribbean and Bermuda was acquired by Cingular when it purchased AT&T. For obvious reasons this market segment did not appeal to Cingular who markets its company on its determination to become the best wireless service within the United States. The deal for divesting on its Caribbean and Bermuda based operations was closed in 2006 (Digicel/Cingular deal worth $122m. July 31st, 2006. p.1). MORE… |