Cingular, VoiceStream to Swap Wireless Spectrum Covering Over 35 Million People
Cingular gains access to New York City, while VoiceStream expands spectrum in Los Angeles and San FranciscoATLANTA, November 2, 2000 - In a major step to expand their market coverage, Cingular Wireless and VoiceStream Wireless Corp. announced today they will exchange spectrum that will allow Cingular to operate in New York City, and VoiceStream to obtain additional spectrum in Los Angeles and San Francisco. As part of the swap, Cingular will also gain additional spectrum in St. Louis and Detroit and VoiceStream will gain spectrum in all of California and Nevada.
"Gaining access to the New York metropolitan area has been a key objective of Cingular's strategy," said Stephen Carter, president and CEO of Cingular. "This deal enhances our footprint to include New York, and provides additional spectrum in two key markets in the United States without spending a penny. This is another significant step as we continue to deliver on our promise to simplify the wireless industry and expand our national reach."
"We are very excited about expanding our spectrum position in California and Nevada," said John Stanton, chairman and CEO of VoiceStream Wireless. "VoiceStream is the leading nationwide provider of GSM service in the United States. This transaction allows VoiceStream to bring our "Get More" value proposition to even more U.S. consumers while maintaining enough spectrum in our existing properties to meet the service needs of our customers in those areas," said Stanton.
Each company is exchanging licenses covering approximately 35 million people in this transaction. The exchange calls for Cingular to acquire from VoiceStream 10-MHz (Megahertz) of spectrum for the New York MTA (Major Trading Area), as well as 10-MHz of spectrum in each of the St. Louis and Detroit BTA's (Basic Trading Area). The New York City MTA covers all five boroughs of New York City, all of Long Island, as well as parts of upstate New York, Northeast Pennsylvania, New Jersey and parts of Connecticut. VoiceStream will receive 10-MHz of spectrum in the Los Angeles and San Francisco MTA's, which includes the entire states of California and Nevada. Cingular gains access to an additional 19 million potential customers in the New York metropolitan area. Entry into that market will expand Cingular's already extensive operations throughout the northeastern United States, including Boston, Philadelphia, Connecticut and the Washington, DC area.
The additional spectrum capacity gained by VoiceStream and Cingular will help expand customer growth in those existing markets. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2001. The transaction is structured as a tax-free exchange and no cash or other considerations are involved in the deal. The agreement is subject to regulatory approval.
ABOUT CINGULAR WIRELESS
Cingular Wireless, a joint venture between SBC (NYSE:SBC) and BellSouth (NYSE: BLS),
provides wireless voice and data service to more than 19 million customers in 38
states, the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories. SBC and BellSouth share
control of Cingular Wireless. Cingular operates in 42 of the top 50 markets in the
United States. For more about Cingular Wireless visit our website at http://www.cingular.com/.
ABOUT VOICESTREAM
Based in Bellevue, Wash., VoiceStream Wireless Corp. is a major nationwide provider
of communication services in the country and operates using the globally dominant
GSM technology platform. VoiceStream and its affiliates own licenses to provide
service to over 220 million customers. VoiceStream is a member of the North American
GSM Alliance LLC, a group of U.S. and Canadian digital wireless PCS carriers. The
GSM Alliance helps provide seamless GSM wireless communications for their customers
in more than 5,500 U.S. and Canadian cities and towns as well as international service.
VoiceStream has roaming agreements with more than 125 of the major operators worldwide
providing service in 70 countries. For more information, visit the website at http://www.voicestream.com/.
In addition to historical information, this press release contains forward-looking statements regarding events and financial trends. Factors that could affect future results and financial position and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include: