Cingular has spent $160 million over the past two years to upgrade its wireless network in Colorado and is planning to launch a new high-speed network in the state in 2007, the company’s top regional official said Tuesday.
The nation’s largest wireless carrier has also boosted its workforce in Colorado by 30 percent to more than 250 since it was acquired by AT&T in October 2004, said Sue Knox, vice president of Cingular’s Denver-based Rocky Mountain region.
Cingular, based in Atlanta, plans to add another 100 workers to a new Pueblo call center by the end of this year. The call center will employ 500 people by next May, Knox said.
The company’s upgrade of its Colorado network includes the addition of 145 new cell sites, which help improve coverage and call quality and reduce dropped calls.
Cingular has 57 million customers nationwide. The company doesn’t break out subscribers by state.
Knox said Cingular will launch a 3G wireless broadband network – which offers higher speeds than the current Edge network – in 2007. The 3G network is already live in 27 markets.
Cingular’s Edge network offers data- transfer speeds of up to 135 kilobits per second. The 3G network will have speeds ranging from 400 kbps to 700 kbps. In comparison, digital subscriber line, or DSL, speeds start at 1.5 megabits per second, about twice as fast as the top range for 3G.
Also, Cingular will release a new smart phone Thursday called BlackJack, which will retail for $199 with a two-year service contract.
Staff writer Andy Vuong can be reached at 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com.
