ALLTEL Announces Intention to Sell Publicly Traded Equity Units.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 25, 2002

ALLTEL (NYSE:AT) today announced that it plans to offer $1.25 billion in publicly traded equity units next week, subject to market conditions.

The equity units consist of a senior note and a purchase contract for shares of ALLTEL common stock. The senior notes are expected to have a term of approximately five years, and the purchase contract will require the holder to purchase ALLTEL common stock for cash after approximately three years. The number of shares purchased will depend on the price of the ALLTEL common stock at the time of settlement of the purchase contracts.

ALLTEL expects to use a significant portion of the net proceeds of this offering, together with proceeds from other financings, to finance its pending acquisitions of Verizon Communications' local telephone business in Kentucky and CenturyTel Inc.'s wireless operations. These acquisitions would result in the addition of approximately 1.3 million customers.

ALLTEL has appointed Banc of America Securities LLC, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Salomon Smith Barney as joint-bookrunning managers for this offering. ALLTEL intends to grant the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional $187.5 million in equity units to cover over-allotments, if any.

This news release is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Any such offer may only be made by means of the prospectus and related prospectus supplement, copies of which may be obtained from the underwriters.

ALLTEL claims the protection of the safe-harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to uncertainties that could cause actual future events and results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on estimates, projections, beliefs and assumptions and are not guarantees of future events and results. Actual future events and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements as a result of a number of important factors. Representative examples of these factors include (without limitation) ongoing deregulation (and the resulting likelihood of significantly increased price and product/service competition) in the communications business as a result of federal and state legislation, rules, and regulations; the final outcome of federal, state and local regulatory initiatives and proceedings related to the terms and conditions of interconnection, access charges, universal service and unbundled network elements and resale rates; adverse changes in economic conditions in the markets served by ALLTEL; the extent, timing, and overall effects of competition in the communications business; material changes in available technology; the risks associated with the integration of acquired businesses; and adverse changes in the ratings given to our debt securities by nationally accredited ratings organizations.

ALLTEL, with more than 10 million communications customers and $7.5 billion in annual revenues, is a leader in the communications and information services industries. ALLTEL has communications customers in 24 states and provides information services to telecommunications, financial and mortgage clients in more than 50 countries.

ALLTEL, NYSE:AT