OKLAHOMA CITY, United States—Dobson Communications said it will follow nationwide roaming partners AT&T Wireless and Cingular Wireless in overlaying its current TDMA network with GSM/General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology.
Dobson also announced a new 10-year roaming relationship with Cingular, which the company said will increase roaming traffic on each other’s networks for the long-term. Cingular is currently the second-largest roaming partner on Dobson’s TDMA network.
“We’re extremely pleased with the strengthening of our relationship with Cingular, and at the same time, our choice to overlay the world’s most popular wireless platform on the Dobson network,” said Everett Dobson, chairman and chief executive officer of Dobson. “Our commitment to GSM/GPRS is consistent with Dobson’s strategy to complement the technology, services and functionality offered by our major roaming partners.”
Dobson also said the operator plans to migrate to Enhanced Date Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) technology and ultimately third-generation (3G) services in line with the strategies of its key roaming partners.
