Cingular Effort Touches Arkansas

In April, Cingular Wireless said it would invest $750 million in its south central network, which takes in three Arkansas markets.

In December, the network in those three markets — Fayetteville/Springdale, Little Rock and Pine Bluff — received a five-star rating for wireless network performance by independent research firm Telephia Inc. in San Francisco. The ratings used field tests of 14,464 calls. Resulting composite scores were based on quality coverage, dropped calls and blocked-call performance.

Nancy Garvey, Cingular’s south central regional vice president and general manager, said even though Cingular’s current service got high marks, the company is spending more to keep from losing ground. Continual upgrade and constant quality are Cingular’s goals, she said.

Cingular entered the market in 2000 and has since spent $10 million to build out its all-digital network in the mountainous terrain of Northwest Arkansas. It operates 60 sales locations, including 55 through authorized agents such as national retailers, and Garvey said local Cingular customers have increased their minutes usage 50 percent from last year.

The third-largest telecommunications company in Arkansas with 1,000 employees statewide, Cingular is a joint venture of SBC Communications Inc. and Bell South. It has 21.6 million customers nationwide.

The rest of Cingular’s south central network includes Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.

In April, Cingular Wireless said it would invest $750 million in its south central network, which takes in three Arkansas markets.

In December, the network in those three markets — Fayetteville/Springdale, Little Rock and Pine Bluff — received a five-star rating for wireless network performance by independent research firm Telephia Inc. in San Francisco. The ratings used field tests of 14,464 calls. Resulting composite scores were based on quality coverage, dropped calls and blocked-call performance.

Nancy Garvey, Cingular’s south central regional vice president and general manager, said even though Cingular’s current service got high marks, the company is spending more to keep from losing ground. Continual upgrade and constant quality are Cingular’s goals, she said.

Cingular entered the market in 2000 and has since spent $10 million to build out its all-digital network in the mountainous terrain of Northwest Arkansas. It operates 60 sales locations, including 55 through authorized agents such as national retailers, and Garvey said local Cingular customers have increased their minutes usage 50 percent from last year.

The third-largest telecommunications company in Arkansas with 1,000 employees statewide, Cingular is a joint venture of SBC Communications Inc. and Bell South. It has 21.6 million customers nationwide.

The rest of Cingular’s south central network includes Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.

In April, Cingular Wireless said it would invest $750 million in its south central network, which takes in three Arkansas markets.

In December, the network in those three markets — Fayetteville/Springdale, Little Rock and Pine Bluff — received a five-star rating for wireless network performance by independent research firm Telephia Inc. in San Francisco. The ratings used field tests of 14,464 calls. Resulting composite scores were based on quality coverage, dropped calls and blocked-call performance.

Nancy Garvey, Cingular’s south central regional vice president and general manager, said even though Cingular’s current service got high marks, the company is spending more to keep from losing ground. Continual upgrade and constant quality are Cingular’s goals, she said.

Cingular entered the market in 2000 and has since spent $10 million to build out its all-digital network in the mountainous terrain of Northwest Arkansas. It operates 60 sales locations, including 55 through authorized agents such as national retailers, and Garvey said local Cingular customers have increased their minutes usage 50 percent from last year.

The third-largest telecommunications company in Arkansas with 1,000 employees statewide, Cingular is a joint venture of SBC Communications Inc. and Bell South. It has 21.6 million customers nationwide.

The rest of Cingular’s south central network includes Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.