REDMOND, WASHINGTON - Cellular phone service rivals AT&T Wireless and Cingular Wireless said Monday they will join forces to build faster wireless networks along major interstate routes in the West and Midwest. <br>
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The joint venture, which aims to have the networks in place by early 2003, will allow both companies to offer the faster service months earlier than if they had tried to install networks separately, they said in a joint statement. <br>
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Financial terms were not disclosed. <br>
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AT&T Wireless, based in Redmond, Washington and Cingular, a joint venture of SBC Communications and BellSouth based in Atlanta, will build networks based on two technologies: the Global System for Mobile Communication and the General Packet Radio System. <br>
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The system allows people to establish a wireless connection to the Internet at speeds similar to home Internet connections on regular land lines -- much faster than most current wireless connections.
