MONROE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 2004--CenturyTel, Inc.
(NYSE:CTL) announced today it has entered into a reseller relationship
with Cingular Wireless
that will allow CenturyTel
to provide wireless
voice and text messaging services as part of its full suite of bundled
product and service offerings.
CenturyTel
expects to begin offering its wireless services by the
end of the year in select markets.
"We continue to strengthen our position in the marketplace as an
integrated communications provider," said Glen F. Post, III,
CenturyTel
chairman and CEO. "As with the EchoStar
partnership
announced a few weeks ago, this agreement allows CenturyTel
to provide
total solutions to our customers and enables us to be more competitive
in our markets."
As part of the agreement, CenturyTel
will be responsible for all
marketing, provisioning, customer service and billing for its wireless
services. Customers will have the convenience of calling one company
for their communications products and services included on one bill.
CenturyTel
plans to offer its wireless services as part of its
integrated bundles which can include local and long distance telephone
service, a wide variety of advanced calling features, dial-up and
high-speed DSL Internet service and satellite TV services.
CenturyTel, Inc.
provides communications services including local,
long distance, Internet access and data services to customers in 22
states. The company, headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, is publicly
traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CTL, and is
included in the S&P 500 Index. CenturyTel
is the 8th largest local
exchange telephone company, based on access lines, in the United
States. Visit CenturyTel
at www.centurytel.com.
CONTACT: CenturyTel
, Monroe
Media:
Annmarie Sartor, 318-388-9671
annmarie.sartor@centurytel.com
or
Investors:
Tony Davis, 318-388-9525
tony.davis@centurytel.com
SOURCE: CenturyTel