AirGate PCS, Inc., a Sprint PCS Network Partner, Announces Commercial Launch of Advanced Wireless Communications Service in Four New Markets.

Business Editors & Technology Writers

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 2000

AirGate PCS, Inc., (Nasdaq/NM:PCSA), a Sprint PCS (NYSE:PCS) Network Partner, today announced the launch of advanced Sprint PCS wireless personal communications services (PCS) in Augusta, Georgia and in Columbia, Florence and Orangeburg, South Carolina. As a result, AirGate will have the immediate opportunity to offer Sprint PCS Products and Services to almost 1.3 million residents in these important markets. This region also includes major highway corridors leading to popular tourist and vacation locations along the coastal beach areas in South Carolina. AirGate will receive additional revenue from Sprint PCS when Sprint PCS customers travel into the AirGate service area and make calls on AirGate's portion of the Sprint PCS nationwide network. In addition, the Company will receive roaming revenue from other wireless carriers with whom Sprint PCS has roaming agreements.

AirGate and Sprint PCS settle the exchange of revenue under their management agreement. There are no additional charges for Sprint PCS customers who have selected one of the national Sprint PCS Free & Clear Plans that feature no roaming charges anywhere on the Sprint PCS nationwide, wireless network.

"We are very excited to announce that AirGate is now offering Sprint PCS Service in these important southeastern markets in advance of our anticipated launch date," commented Thomas M. Dougherty, president and chief executive officer of AirGate PCS. "With the addition of Augusta, Florence, Orangeburg and Columbia, we are now offering coverage to over two-thirds of the population in our territory. These new markets are important to AirGate for a number of reasons. In addition to the attractive demographic characteristics of these regions, the city of Columbia is home to the main campus of The University of South Carolina with a population of over 35,000 students, representing an attractive target market for wireless communication services. Furthermore, close proximity to major highway corridors leading to popular tourist and vacation destinations along the coastal areas of South Carolina make these markets attractive from a roaming point of view. We are pleased to be able to launch service as the busy vacation season approaches, providing us with the immediate opportunity to benefit from attractive traffic patterns for roaming activity.

"To the customers in our territory, we are Sprint PCS, and as such, we benefit from the brand name synonymous with the nation's fastest growing wireless service provider. We believe this brand name identity provides us with a significant competitive advantage as we launch service in these new markets, allowing us to aggressively grow our customer base and expand the Sprint PCS wireless footprint."

AirGate PCS, Inc. is the exclusive manager and operator of Sprint PCS Products and Services throughout most of the state of South Carolina, including Charleston, Columbia and Greenville-Spartanburg, parts of North Carolina, including Asheville, Wilmington and Hickory, and the eastern Georgia cities of Augusta and Savannah. With a territory that includes more than 7.1 million licensed POPs covering 62,000 contiguous square miles. AirGate PCS is one of the largest Sprint PCS Network Partners based on the size of the population in its territory. As a Sprint PCS Network Partner, AirGate PCS is building its own PCS network to exclusively provide 100 percent digital, 100 percent PCS products and services under the Sprint PCS brand names in its territory.

Sprint PCS operates the largest 100 percent digital, 100 percent PCS nationwide wireless network in the United States, already serving the majority of the nation's metropolitan areas including more than 4,000 cities and communities across the country. Sprint PCS has licensed PCS coverage of nearly 270 million people in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information, visit the Sprint PCS web site at http://www.sprintpcs.com. Sprint PCS is a wholly-owned tracking group of Sprint Corporation trading on the NYSE under the symbol "PCS."

Sprint is a global communications company at the forefront of integrating long-distance, local and wireless communications services, and a large carrier of Internet traffic. Sprint built and operates the United States' first nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network and is a leader in advanced data communications services. Sprint has $20 billion in annual revenues and serves more than 20 million business and residential customers.

Statements contained in this news release regarding expected financial results and other planned events should be considered forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such forward looking statements are made pursuant to the "safe-harbor" provisions of the private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are made based on management's current expectations or beliefs as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. A variety of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in AirGate PCS' forward-looking statements, including the following factors: potential fluctuations in quarterly results, our dependence on our affiliation with Sprint PCS; an adequate supply of infrastructure and subscriber equipment; new product development; rapid technological and market change; risks related to future growth and expansion; our significant level of indebtedness and volatility of stock prices. For a detailed discussion of these and other cautionary statements and factors that could cause actual results to differ from AirGate PCS' forward-looking statements, please refer to AirGate PCS' filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially in the "risk factors" section of AirGate PCS' Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1999, and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2000, and in subsequent filings with Securities and Exchange Commission.