Cingular's Wireless Wallet Pioneers First Wireless Micropayments in the U.S.

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Customers Can Change Their Tune by Purchasing Customized Ringtones For Mobile Phones With Cingular's DirectBill June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- In a groundbreaking move that sets the stage for a new age in mobile commerce, Cingular Wireless announced today at SUPERCOMM 2001 the national roll-out of its wireless micropayment solution, Cingular DirectBill. Cingular is the first wireless carrier in the United States to offer a nationwide wireless micropayment billing service -- a unique service that bills purchases made by wireless phones or from the Internet to the customer's current wireless phone bill. The solution utilizes technology from Qpass, a premier provider of commerce service infrastructure.

Cingular DirectBill now enables a customer to purchase low-cost digital goods, such as customized ringtones for his or her phone, and have the charges for those goods appear monthly on their existing wireless phone bill. Cingular DirectBill does not use a credit card to pay for purchases, but instead purchases are billed directly to a customer's current phone bill. The service is free -- customers pay only for what they purchase. The new service is part of Cingular's suite of mobile commerce services collectively known as Cingular's "Wireless Wallet."

Coming soon, customers will be able to make purchases from a WAP (wireless application protocol) phone or short messaging service (SMS)-enabled handset (a feature that will demonstrated for SuperComm attendees). An array of digital goods will also expand to include things such as games, graphics and MP3s. Additionally, Cingular is exploring plans to offer "hard" goods such as sodas and snacks from vending machines. Toll booth or mass transit payment systems are also being considered for this service.

"The best part of Cingular's DirectBill is the consolidated bill feature that allows a customer to write one check to pay for wireless service and digital purchases," said Stephen Krom, Cingular Vice President of Data and Internet Services.

All a customer needs to access this free service is an Internet-enabled PC and a handset with short messaging service. Most customers using Nokia handsets shipped since September 2000 may immediately begin using Cingular DirectBill for ringtones. Customers can visit www.mywirelesswindow.com to select from a wide-ranging variety of ringtones that include the theme from "Pretty Woman," or "Batman" and tunes popularized by Jennifer Lopez, the Beatles and Abba.

"Now Cingular customers have a new, convenient way to express their individuality with cool ringtones," Krom noted. Customized ringtones are the hottest new feature for mobile phone users. Now instead of being limited to the same electronic melody that everyone else's cell phone plays, for 99 cents users can express their individuality with songs from "Rocky" or Blink 182. And they'll never have trouble recognizing their wireless phone in a crowd.

Customers will be able to easily identify and track the new Cingular DirectBill purchases on their phone bill as well as review detailed purchase information by accessing their Cingular DirectBill Account Review at www.mywirelesswindow.com and entering their PIN code.

Cingular's Wireless Wallet currently includes an "eWallet" that stores an account profile, including credit card, billing and shipping information. Once created, customers can then shop online at any of the merchants located on the My Wireless Window portal via their PC or Internet-enabled wireless phone. Cingular's DirectBill is the latest addition to the My Wireless Window Wallet suite of services, allowing customers a broader range of payment options: DirectBill for small purchases under $10 and eWallet for larger purchases. More banking and financial services are currently in development, including banking online, bill payment and stock market trading features.

To obtain customized ringtones and sign up for Cingular DirectBill, Cingular customers should visit www.mywirelesswindow.com to set up their account and receive updates on goods that can be purchased. Because purchases are charged to the customer's existing wireless phone bill, no credit card information is ever needed.

About Cingular Wireless
Cingular Wireless is the second largest wireless carrier in the U.S., and is dedicated to self-expression and customer-friendly service. As a leader in mobile voice and data communications, Cingular, a joint venture between SBC Communications and BellSouth, currently serves more than 20.5 million customers nationwide. Cingular offers customers advanced technologies in simple, cost-effective ways that permit them to tap the creative potential of wireless through their own self-expression. Details of the company are available at www.cingular.com .

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SOURCE Cingular Wireless