It wasn't that long ago that AT&T Wireless was absorbed into Cingular, but in 2007 Cingular's brand will be dropped in favor of AT&T's. This is one of the outcomes of AT&T buying BellSouth (the two companies jointly own Cingular).
Aproximately $4 billion has been spent branding Cingular and the money is still flowing, almost $1 billion is budgeted for 2006. Insiders expect AT&T to spend around $2 billion dollars in rebranding Cingular to AT&T Wireless, despite mixed opinions on a benefit:
Still, many ad experts feel the success of bundling is far from a given, and that ditching the wireless brand as we enter a wireless future is the wrong approach. “To give up Cingular is a mistake,” especially in favor of AT&T, “my father’s brand of telephony,” said Jonathan Asher, president, Dragon Rouge USA, a branding and design consultancy. “I’m not sure how much value or what AT&T brings to the party.”