Cingular will be sold under name of AT&T
By Leslie Cauley, USA TODAY
NEW YORK ? SBC (SBC), which closed its merger with AT&T on Friday, plans to sell Cingular Wireless under the fabled AT&T name, Ed Whitacre, the chairman and CEO of the combined company, has confirmed to USA TODAY.
Cingular, the USA's No. 1 wireless company, is 60% owned by the new AT&T; BellSouth controls 40%.
SBC recently said it would adopt AT&T's name, putting to rest questions about what would happen to the famous name. But speculation had also swirled about what would happen to the Cingular brand name once the AT&T deal closed.
In an interview with USA TODAY on Friday, Whitacre left no doubt about his plans. Asked if the company planned to drop the Cingular name in favor of the AT&T brand, Whitacre said, "Yes, we do."
Whitacre said AT&T might still use the Cingular name in some markets. But the overall plan, he said, is to use the AT&T name to market all the company's products ? local, long-distance, wireless, data and video.
He conceded that the move could strain AT&T's relationship with BellSouth. The two carriers have worked to promote Cingular as a national brand. But for now at least, BellSouth isn't resisting.
BellSouth spokesman Jeff Battcher says anything that boosts Cingular's revenue is good for BellSouth. "This is not an issue," he said Sunday.
Whitacre also sees a silver lining, of sorts, for BellSouth. If the switch to the AT&T name helps attract customers to the wireless company, he noted, both carriers will benefit.
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