US : Cingular Wireless has been named as the "front-runner" in the wireless business-to-business marketplace in Forrester Research, Inc.'s January 2005 "US 2.5 And 3G Business Services" report.

Inset is Kent Mathy, president of Cingular Wireless' Business Markets Group quoted below.

Forrester announced its findings this week. Cingular Wireless was among the select companies that Forrester invited to participate in its Forrester Wave(TM) report. In this evaluation, Cingular Wireless was cited as a strong performer in U.S. 2.5 and 3G Business Services.

The technology research firm said it found Cingular Wireless to be the front-runner in each of its three key areas of evaluation: current offering, market presence and strategy. In particular, Cingular was cited for an "excellent" business customer care strategy originally established by the former AT&T Wireless, and scored highest for "business customer care" among the major U.S. wireless providers in the evaluation.

Forrester also noted that Cingular "has some excellent business customer care and support strategies, particularly in its use of third-party partners (developers, SIs, etc.), comparatively wide international roaming capabilities, and support of a very wide range of devices targeted for use by mobile professionals." In addition, it cited Cingular for its ranking as the top provider of 2.5/3G BlackBerry(R) wireless e-mail devices in the nation.

"Anyone can call themselves 'the best' but the proof lies in the validation of that claim by highly respected and credible third-party organizations such as Forrester Research," said Kent Mathy, president of Cingular Wireless' Business Markets Group. "Forrester's ranking of Cingular as the front-runner in the wireless B2B space is wonderful news and we are committed to maintaining that status over the long haul. That means that the customer will remain our primary focus, and we will continue to be at the
forefront in introducing the cutting-edge technology enhancements, products and services that companies need to keep their employees connected to the critical information they need to maintain a competitive edge."

At the core of Cingular Wireless' business-to-business activities is the Business Markets Group. The Business Markets Group is a nationally focused B2B organization that gives business customers access to sales and support professionals in the areas of sales, customer care, ordering, product and offer development, and solutions deployment who are focused solely on their specialized needs.

Cingular Wireless serves 95 of the Fortune 100 companies, and counts more than 80 percent of the Fortune 500 and over 1,200 federal, state and local government agencies as customers.