AT&T to disconnect the Cingular name

CNN/Money ^ | May 2, 2006

[RWR8189]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - AT&T plans to abandon the Cingular brand name for its cell phone service as early as 2007, according to a magazine report.

The company says it is making the change to reduce customer confusion about its brands, and will rename the division "AT&T Wireless," according to Advertising Age.

AT&T wants to sell customers bundled landline, Internet and wireless services under the same brand.

Advertising experts say the move could bring heavy marketing costs, as much as $500 million each year for several years, the report said.

AT&T first announced plans to shed the Cingular name after its merger with SBC closed in November 2005.

[Spktyr]

Heh, so my AT&T WS contract which got handed to Cingular is now going to be AT&T WS again.

I liked the Death Star logo better anyway. :)

[kinghorse]

Gotta love it. We went all the way around the deregulation block and what do I see monthly? After 20 someodd years? Yep ATT. Deregulation is a joke. How many independents are left?

[zarf]

This is ridiculous. How much money have these boobs pissed away establishing the Cingular brand name?

There was enough confusion in the trasition from the AT&T name to Cingular!

[mysterio]

Each time they change the name, the bill goes up about $10. Still trying to figure out how my $39 plan really means $58.

[norraad]

..translation , because everybody says cingular sucks!

Usual corpo-apathy, why fix the problem, just change the name.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

AT & T itself should change it's name. Who uses a telegraph anymore?

Name the company American Communications or something.

[KarlInOhio]

AT & T itself should change it's name. Who uses a telegraph anymore?

AT&T's abbreviation stands for American Telephone and Telepath - beaming mind control rays straight to your head.

[Spktyr]

Not as such, no. Cingular service has been pretty good for me, and they do keep winning quality awards.

That said, the few times I've had to deal with their customer service, you have a 50% chance of getting an idiot.

[MarineBrat]

I thought that Cingular purchased AT&T wireless? They made me switch over from AT&T to Cingular when I needed a new phone.

I guess the marketing departments have to find something to do to look like they're working.

[Spktyr]

Dunno - but I know Cingular *really* hates me.

I got in at the beginning of AT&T GSM service, and I'm *still* on the $99/mo+tax, fees, etc., for absolutely unlimited service.

Cingular really wants me to switch to a new (more profitable for them) plan. Not going to happen - I use my phone for 3-7,000 minutes a month.

[John Williams]

Just glad to be with Verizon.

Enjoy the changes, guys.

[taxed2death]

Ya got a point there....LOL.

[Cowboy Bob]

AT&T plans to abandon the Cingular brand name...

I'm so glad. I can't stand the names "Verizon" and "Qwest" either.

[Spktyr]

I was with PrimeCo when Verizon took over. The customer *and* phone service went straight to hell, though I hear they've improved since.

[Doctor Stochastic]

The cell phones don't help with asthma.

[MikeA]

I had the same thought, how many times is this company going to bounce back and forth? I hope I don't get as screwed this time as I did last time, unable to get new phones until my AT&T Wireless contract was up and be stuck with phones that were incapatable with Cingular's network.

[RWR8189]

Cingular did buy AT&T Wireless, which at the time was already spun-off from AT&T.

Cingular was a joint venture between SBC and BellSouth, both having a 50% stake in the company.

Last year SBC bought AT&T and took its name.

Now the new AT&T is buying BellSouth, and will then have complete control of Cingular.

AT&T will then change Cingular's name to AT&T Wireless.

Its a very tangled web.

[Coldwater Creek]

Thank Al Gore!!!!!!

[Revolting cat!]

AT&T to disconnect the Cingular name

Can I use the name now?

[mysterio]

What did he invent the cell phone too? I though it was just the internet that he invented.

[AFreeBird]

Actually, AT&T dropped "American Telephone and Telegraph" from its offical name years ago, and is known simply, and legally, as AT&T.

[DaGman]

Those folks at SBC corporate sit there in there Houston St or McCullough St (in San Antonio) cubicles and come up with some of the best ways known to man to waste money but make theirselves look fabulous at the end of the year at appraisal time. "Ok, Boss... give me a fabulous rating and another promotion now!) Meanwhile, the stock price stays the same for another 10 years.

[Red Badger]

AT&T is putting itself back together like the T2 robot and Standard Oil........

[Red Badger]

...you have a 50% chance of getting an idiot.

The other 50% are morons...........

[Red Badger]

That's not a tangled web, it's a circle j.......uh.....nevermind.......

[OB1kNOb]

Each time they change the name, the bill goes up about $10. Still trying to figure out how my $39 plan really means $58.

They will be glad to explain it to you by adding a $1.50 "explanation tax" to your next bill. ;-)

[Babu]

If you have access, check the Consumer Reports Jan '06 issue. From reader surveys, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, Cingular, and Nextel are all rated for performance in 4 categories, and given a resulting overall rating.

This survey is done city-by-city, and Cingular is on the bottom or next to the bottom in every city. Verizon (my carrier), is on the top in every one of the 18 cities surveyed.

Good luck, you guys with Cingular, AT&T, or whatever the name-of-the-week is ...

[Arthalion]

That said, the few times I've had to deal with their customer service, you have a 50% chance of getting an idiot

I should stay away from Vegas, because I apparently have really bad luck. Every call I've had to their service line was absolutely pathetic, including one failed attempt to get an erroneous charge removed. When the service rep flat out refused to take the charge off and said "I'm as high as you're getting" when I asked for a manager, I threatened to sue. The reps response? "Good luck with that"...and then he hung up on me. Cingular has the absolute worst telephone service of any company I've ever dealt with...ever.

On the other hand, their in-store service people were great and have quickly resolved every issue I've brought to them (including the above mentioned billing incident...they even credited me a months bill as an "apology"). The phone and network itself have been completely problem free. As long as you don't try to call their service reps on the phone, Cingular is great!

FWIW, I'll miss the little orange guy. He's probably the only interesting logo in the cellphone market nowadays. I guess it's back to the deathstar for us (you cannot resist the power of the dark side).

[Necrovore]

I had friends who worked for SBC here in San Antonio when they moved the St. Louis portion of the company down here. A good deal of people lost their jobs when they imported all of the people from St. Louis who were doing the exact same job. My land line bill went up $10 for some reason this last month when I got the new bill using the AT&T logo. Guess they needed to pay for the new stationary.

[RightField]

Does this mean I won't have to unlock a Cingular phone to put my AT&T sim car into it?

[MMcC]

Those folks at SBC corporate sit there in there Houston St or McCullough St (in San Antonio) cubicles and come up with some of the best ways known to man to waste money but make theirselves look fabulous at the end of the year at appraisal time.

That is a fact. I spent a couple of years working as a contractor with SBC and while there are a lot of really good people who work there, some of the Corp. decisions and methodologies were mind-boggling in there inefficiency.

[RightField]

sim car = sim card

sheesh

anyone remember the Simca?

[RWR8189]

The old AT&T Wireless and the new AT&T Wireless are not compatible.

Cingular is just having its name changed, and the network problems between the old AT&T Wireless and Cingular will remain.

[Semper Paratus]

2 years ago I switched from AT&T to Cingular.
My Internet Service Provider used to be Prodigy and now is Yahoo/AT&T.
I just switched my land-line phone from Verizon to Comcast Digital.

The telecom industry is starting to resemble the banking industry.
At least I have been able to keep my Prodigy.net account with a recognizable email name.

[Spktyr]

Probably not, but we can always hope.

I got an unlocked Cingular Razor to accept my AT&T card, works great. :)

[RightField]

They tried to do that to me ... wanted to "upgrade" my AT&T to a new (more expensive) Cingular plan. Phooey. I bought myself a cool Cingular phone on eBay, unlocked it, and my AT&T sim card then worked perfectly.

[Revolting cat!]

[Old Professer]

A little history (excerpt)

"Cingular Buys AT&T Wireless

$41 billion deal will leave five major companies in wireless market.

Laura Rohde, IDG News Service
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Cingular Wireless has agreed to buy AT&T Wireless Services for around $41 billion.


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Vodafone Group, Europe's largest mobile phone company, says it withdrew from the bidding after it "concluded that it was no longer in its shareholder's best interests to continue discussions." The company, based in Newbury, England, says it remains committed to its current partnership in Verizon Wireless, the dominant operator in the U.S. wireless market."

[MarineBrat]

My head is spinning! :)

[Spktyr]

Well, the Death Star logo *is* truth in advertising....

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

Cingular has been good to me, 4yrs now no problems at all.

[RightField]

cool pic. We had a Simca Aronde when I was in high school. I have fond (?) memories of learning to shift gears on that car!

[Coldwater Creek]

Don't you remember the charge that was put on to pay for everyone to have internet access. 5 or 6 dollars.

[LZ_Bayonet]

"Its a very tangled web"

"Oh what a tangled web they weave
when first we transmit and receive".

"But my how they improve the $core,
as we transmit more and more."

[DaGman]

"...some of the Corp. decisions and methodologies were mind-boggling in there inefficiency."

Yes, its incredible. But they are just amazingly fantastic employees in their own minds. I've never seen anyone manipulate numbers the way they do at SBC to make theirselves look good. When they get called on them, they stumble, mumble and change the subject.

[mysterio]

No, I forgot about that one. There are so many service fees, it makes my head spin.

[RichInOC]

"AT&T...We're Getting The Band Back Together."

[longtermmemmory]

Too bad we can't force retailers and services to have a truth in billing situation.

It would be nice if ALL advertised prices included the sales tax etc.

[savedbygrace]

Still trying to figure out how my $39 plan really means $58.

$14 in taxes.