Cingular Finishes Absorbing Network of AT&T Wireless

CINGULAR FINISHES ABSORBING NETWORK OF AT&T WIRELESS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amol Sharma amol.sharma@wsj.com]
Cingular Wireless is expected to announce today it has finished integrating its cellular network with that of AT&T Wireless, the carrier it acquired two years ago in a $41 billion deal. Cingular, a joint venture of AT&T and BellSouth, leads all wireless carriers in the U.S. with 57.3 million subscribers. After closing its deal with AT&T Wireless in October 2004, Cingular faced the challenge of integrating and upgrading AT&T Wireless's creaky network, which generated many consumer complaints prior to the merger over dropped calls and other problems. Cingular took some hits on Wall Street in the months immediately following the merger, when integration costs were being incurred but the combination hadn't yet yielded tangible benefits for consumers. Now the company says coverage has improved significantly.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115984186629680838.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace
(requires subscription)