AirTouch Cellular Launches Powerband Digital Services in Portland and Salem, Ore.PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 21, 1997--AirTouch Cellular announced today that cellular customers in Portland, Salem and Astoria now have access to time-saving Powerband Digital Services(SM) made possible by Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) A method for transmitting simultaneous signals over a shared portion of the spectrum. The foremost application of CDMA is the digital cellular phone technology from QUALCOMM that operates in the 800 MHz band and 1.9 GHz PCS band. ) technology. "CDMA is widely recognized as the ultimate digital technology for cellular customers. It provides extraordinary digital call quality, reliable connections, unsurpassed security and five full hours of talk time on a single battery," said Joe Dodson, vice president and area general manager for AirTouch Cellular in Oregon Oregon, city, United States Oregon, city (1990 pop. 18,334), Lucas co., NW Ohio, a suburb adjacent to Toledo, on Lake Erie; inc. 1958. It is a port with railroad-owned and -operated docks. The city has industries producing oil, chemicals, and metal products. . "In this initial phase of our introduction we have put the technology to work for customers in the form of time-saving features that give users the power of a pager, answering machine, Caller ID A telephone company service that sends the caller's telephone number between the first and second ring of the call. If the calling number is not blocked, the calling number is displayed on the handset or base station of the called party. box and cellular phone all rolled into one Adj. 1. rolled into one - made up of several components combined into a single entity combined - made or joined or united into one lightweight package," Dodson said. The new Powerband Digital Services -- available only to AirTouch Cellular subscribers in Oregon -- include voice mail with notification, paging and Caller ID. -- Voice Mail with Notification: This fully-featured voice mail system alerts a customer -- with an icon on the screen of the phone and five short beeps -- that a voice mail message has been received. -- Call-Back Number (paging): When a cellular customer's phone is busy callers can use this feature to send a page and call-back number. Just like a pager, the phone stores the caller's number, allowing the cellular customer to return the call by simply pressing the SEND key. -- Caller ID: The number of the calling party will be displayed on the screen of the Powerband phone. If the number is stored in the phone's memory, the name of the individual also will be displayed. Unlike most digital wireless services, Powerband CDMA phones will operate in both the digital and analog mode, giving customers the ability to use their digital cellular phones across North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . "With Powerband, customers can enjoy the best of both worlds," Dodson said. "The most advanced digital service available with high-quality analog included so they can use their Powerband phones in more than 5,500 cities nationwide." In order to enjoy the benefits of CDMA and Powerband features, customers will need to use dual-mode CDMA/analog phones available at 38 locations through 9 Portland-area retailers, including Alert Cellular, Arch Paging, Car Toys, Cellular Connections, Smart Wireless and the three AirTouch Cellular retail stores. Powerband is available on four retail consumer calling plans ranging from $27.95 for 75 minutes of airtime air·time n. 1. The time during which a radio or television station is broadcasting. Also called airspace. 2. The time at which a radio or television program is broadcast. to $139.95 for 690 minutes of airtime. All plans include Caller ID, the first incoming minute free, call waiting, call forwarding call forwarding n. A telephone service that enables a customer to have an incoming call automatically rerouted to another extension. Noun 1. and three-way calling Noun 1. three-way calling - a way of adding a third party to your conversation without the assistance of a telephone operator conference call - a telephone call in which more than two people participate , and home rate roaming The ability to use a communications device such as a cellphone or PDA and be able to move from one cell or access point to another without losing the connection. in Oregon and Washington free of charge. The Easy 420 and Easy 690 plans also include Powerband Messaging as part of the monthly package. Customers also have the option to add 500 weekend and evening minutes to any Powerband consumer calling plan for an additional $10 per month. Additional Powerband Calling plans also are available for small and large business. In August, Powerband customers can look forward to expanded coverage of the AirTouch digital network and the introduction of Powerband digital voice service. Powerband customers will then receive additional added benefits such as call clarity, security and extended battery life. AirTouch Cellular is the brand name for U S WEST NewVector Group, Inc. Based in Bellevue, Wash., NewVector has cellular operations in 12 midwestern, western and southwestern states and serves more than 2 million customers. The company is part of Denver-based U S WEST Media Group (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : UMG UMG Universal Music Group UMG Universidad Mariano Gálvez de Guatemala (Mariano Galvez University of Guatemala) UMG Upgraded Metallurgical Grade (silicon) UMG Unlicensed Medical Graduate ), which is involved in domestic and international cable and wireless networks, directory publishing and interactive multimedia services. CONTACT: AirTouch Cellular Lisa Bowersock, 206/603-7427 |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion