REDMOND, Wash.-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and T-Mobile USA Inc. reported a joint roaming agreement designed to increase coverage of their respective GSM/GPRS networks.
AT&T Wireless said the deal will provide its customers access to services covering approximately 3,000 highway miles and 12.1 million potential customers in Minneapolis; Atlantic City, N.J.; Sarasota, Fla.; the Delaware/Maryland/Virginia Peninsula; along Interstate 25 from Albuquerque, N.M. to El Paso, Texas; and along I-20 between Dallas and Abilene, Texas.
For T-Mobile USA the agreement will provide its customers with access to services covering more than 2,500 miles of interstate highways including I-40 from the California border to Albuquerque; I-25 from Denver to Albuquerque; I-80 in Pennsylvania; and I-30 from Texarkana, Texas, to Little Rock, Ark. In addition, T-Mobile USA customers will gain coverage in markets covering 10.9 million pops including Little Rock; Green Bay and Madison, Wisc.; Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh, N.C.; and Knoxville, Tenn.
In addition, the two carriers announced an agreement encouraging inter-carrier co-location of network facilities designed to reduce cell tower colocation lease costs between the companies and speed the buildout of their respective GSM/GPRS networks.
Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed, but the roaming agreement is expected to be available beginning in June and the colocation rent agreement sometime during the second quarter.
AT&T Wireless also announced a GSM/GPRS roaming agreement with network affiliate Cincinnati Bell Wireless that will provide network coverage for AT&T Wireless customers in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, and provide CBW customers access to AT&T Wireless’ national GSM/GPRS network.
The agreement is expected to begin once CBW completes its GSM/GPRS network, which is scheduled for the fourth quarter.
