Cingular Wireless customers in parts of eastern Texas experienced a network
outage on Monday caused by “hardware and software issues,” the company
confirmed today.
“The disruption was restricted to Dallas and Houston GSM
customers and lasted from a quarter to five Central time to seven Central
time,” Mark Siegal, a Cingular spokesman, told internetnews.com.
Siegal refuted a local Texas television station report that claimed the problem was
far more widespread. The breakdown primarily affected customers trying to
receive calls on their mobile phones; those making calls had less
difficulties, he added.
Atlanta-based Cingular declined to disclose how many subscribers they have
in the Dallas and Houston markets.
Siegal said the downtime was not a result of any integration work related to
its $41 billion
merger with
AT&T Wireless.
Cingular is a joint venture between SBC Communications and
BellSouth . The carrier emerged as the winner in the AT&T
Wireless sweepstakes in February, after outbidding Vodafone
in an auction.
The merger gave Cingular 46 million subscribers, vaulting it ahead of
Verizon Wireless. But the two carriers are expected to battle for customers
in the coming months.