Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Suncom, Cingular Plan Swap ; They'Ll Exchange Operations in

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 11:27:12 -0400

Suncom, Cingular Plan Swap ; They'Ll Exchange Operations in
VA., N.C. After Cingular Acquires at&T Wireless
Source: Richmond Times - Dispatch
Publication date: 2004-07-09
Arrival time: 2004-07-10

Most SunCom wireless subscribers in Virginia would become Cingular
Wireless customers early next year under an agreement announced by the
companies.

SunCom and Cingular said yesterday that they have agreed to exchange
their operations in Virginia and North Carolina, including swapping
assets, customers and employees, in a deal that SunCom said would
greatly expand its growth potential.
SunCom is the trade name for Triton PCS, a Berwyn, Pa.-based member of
the AT&T Wireless network. It is one of seven wireless- service
providers in the Richmond area and employs about 575 workers here.

Redmond, Wash.-based AT&T Wireless, the nation's second-largest wireless
carrier, agreed in February to be acquired by Atlanta- based Cingular
for $41 billion, a deal that would make Cingular the nation's biggest
mobile-phone company.
The SunCom deal is contingent on that acquisition, which is under review
by the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission. The
companies expect to close the deal this year.

Under a nonbinding letter of intent, Cingular would receive Triton PCS'
network assets and customers in Virginia. In exchange, Triton PCS would
receive certain AT&T Wireless network assets and customers in North
Carolina and Puerto Rico. Cingular also agreed to pay Triton $175
million in cash.

SunCom already serves markets in eastern and western North Carolina.
The addition of markets in the Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham and Greensboro
areas will "boost Triton PCS' growth prospects and position the company
to continue as a leading wireless carrier in the Southeast," said
Michael E. Kalogris, the company's chairman and chief executive officer.

The company operates a digital wireless network covering Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, northern Georgia, northeastern Tennessee and
southeastern Kentucky. If the deal is completed, its number of
subscribers will increase from 920,000 to 1 million.

To help clear possible legal problems, Triton and AT&T Wireless also
agreed to terminate a stockholder agreement and exclusivity agreements.
AT&T Wireless will surrender its equity in Triton PCS, which will have
exclusive use of the SunCom brand.

SunCom will retain its service in the Bristol area of southwest
Virginia. The company did not disclose how many subscribers it has in
Virginia.

About 300 SunCom employees in Virginia will become Cingular employees,
while about 580 will remain with SunCom, including the company's
Richmond call-center employees, said Glen Mella, SunCom's senior vice
president of marketing and sales.

Mella said both companies have agreed to retain employees. "From a
SunCom standpoint, it is kind of bittersweet because it is always
difficult to separate what have been great employees from what has been
a great operation in Virginia," he said. "On the flip side, we get
access to some great markets in North Carolina."

Neither company said much yesterday about what changes subscribers in
Virginia should expect.
"We expect there is going to be a lot of positive change in terms of
giving customers more options. They are not going to be negatively
impacted by this," said Alexa Kaufman, a Cingular spokeswoman.
Publication date: 2004-07-09

© 2004, YellowBrix, Inc.
http://cnniw.yellowbrix.com/pages/cnniw/Story.nsp?story_id=53809914&ID=cnniw&scategory=Telecommunications%3AWireless&

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