A real-life "rags to riches" story: In August 1993, two Phoenix residents, Ted Rich and Andrew Wise invented pre-paid cellular and in 1996, will earn over $6 million.

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 2, 1996--In July 1993, Ted Rich, a general manager of a small local paging company, and Andrew Wise, owner of Touch Tone Interactive Inc., an up-start company selling pagers and voice mail services, created the idea of pre-paid cellular.

Believing that there was a strong market for cellular and pager services on a no credit, no contract, no deposit and no ID basis, Rich and Wise created the Pre-paid Cellular Switching System trademarked "Patti" (Prepaid Transaction Tracking Interface.) Patents are pending.

Their idea along with "Patti" gave people without strong credit the opportunity to have cellular and pager service.

In January of 1996, just two and one half years after their idea was a mustard seek, Banana Cellular has 7 retail stores in Phoenix, two in Tucson, two in Denver and has just completed negotiations to begin service in San Diego. Plans for this year include opening service in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Atlanta.

Their road to success was paved with huge stumbling blocks. In October 1993, they met with US West Cellular for the purpose of becoming a reseller in order to launch their new idea. They were denied a contract because they had no experience in cellular and no credit to speak of.

They tried again, this time to US West key accounts and secured 30 numbers for resale with Wise's mother as the guarantor. They were now ready to test the system with the public.

In November 1993, they placed a small ad in New Times and had over 1,000 calls the first week. They immediately put all of their US West numbers to use with their new customer base. Banana Cellular Inc. was formed and some capital was raised by selling quantities of stock to family and friends.

Rich and Wise again met with US West Cellular, showed them their ideas and success and requested more numbers. They were promised 100 new numbers for next week. The next week came and went and no new numbers. After reaching US West Cellular to find out where their new inventory was, they were told that the regional manager had decided against their request, and his decision was final.

In January 1994, after numerous attempts, Rich finally reached the US West Cellular regional manager. He told Rich that it was obvious to him that they had no knowledge of the cellular business and he thought they were running a scam. Therefore, he would not talk with them.

Believing they had a winning idea, Rich and Wise finally secured a meeting with the head of US West Cellular resale department. In anticipation of this event, and to help them appear more knowledgeable in the business, they hired a man who had a strong background with Motorola and was a partner in a company that was the largest Bell Atlantic agent in Phoenix. With his help, they walked away from the meeting with a contract as a national resaler for US West Cellular.

There have been several companies that have tried "knockoffs" of the "Patti" system. In November 1993, right after their initial success, a CEO of a Bell Atlantic Agent walked into their office and demanded a partnership.

He claimed that he spent $75,000 a quarter in advertising dollars, and since they couldn't compete with that, it was in their best interest to share their technology. He also claimed spending $100,000 on a new metered phone which was waiting for FCC approval.

Rich and Wise said "NO" believing that the "Metered Phone" system was inferior and the "Patti" was the only future for pre-paid cellular.

Since Banana Cellular's success, there have been several companies who have tried to duplicate their technology. Banana Cellular is preparing patent infringement lawsuits against them at this time.

There have been several threats against their stores by a competitor. On June 18, 1995, someone attempted to burn down their store on 16th Street and Oak. Arson investigators found road flares and gas on the roof. Damage was minimal. Just eight days later, on June 26, arsonists completed the job, burning the store to the ground. A competitor is suspected, however, the investigation is still ongoing.

Despite any adversity, Banana Cellular's growth is exploding with the April 15th Grand Opening of their 8th store located at 9204 N. 7th St. in the SunnySlope area. This staggering growth proves that there is a viable cellular market for people the mainstream cellular companies don't want.

CONTACT: Banana Cellular Inc., Phoenix

Jim Ahlander, 602/926-9651