AirGate PCS, Inc. Common Stock Begins Trading On Nasdaq; Common Stock to Initially Trade Under the Symbol PCSAD.

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 17, 2004

AirGate PCS, Inc. (Nasdaq:PCSAD), a PCS Affiliate of Sprint, today announced that effective with today's opening of trading, its common stock is now trading on the Nasdaq National Market.

The common stock will trade under the symbol PCSAD for no longer than a 20-day period to reflect the 1-for-5 reverse-stock split effected on February 13, 2004. Upon the expiration of this period, the common stock will resume trading under the symbol PCSA.

"We are very pleased to once again be trading on the Nasdaq National Market," said Thomas M. Dougherty, president and chief executive officer of AirGate PCS. "We believe it will provide significantly enhanced liquidity to our shareholders."

In connection with the Company's previously announced exchange offers, which expired on February 12, 2004, the Company expects to settle the exchange offers on Friday, February 20, 2004. Based on an exchange ratio of 110.1384 (pre-split) shares of common stock and $533.33 of new notes for each $1,000 of old notes tendered in the exchange offers, holders will receive, for each $1,000 of old notes tendered,

-- 22 shares of common stock, plus cash in lieu of fractional

shares (after giving effect to the recently-implemented

1-for-5 reverse-stock split); and

-- $500 of new notes (which new notes are denominated in integral

multiples of $100), plus cash in lieu of non-denominational

notes.

About AirGate PCS

AirGate PCS, Inc. is the PCS Affiliate of Sprint with the right to sell wireless mobility communications network products and services under the Sprint brand in territories within three states located in the Southeastern United States. The territories include over 7.2 million residents in key markets such as Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina; Augusta and Savannah, Georgia; and Asheville, Wilmington and the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the wireless industry, the recapitalization plan, our beliefs and our management's assumptions. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "targets," "goals," "projects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ include: our dependence on the success of Sprint's wireless business; the competitiveness and impact of Sprint wireless pricing plans and PCS products and services; intense competition in the wireless market and the unsettled nature of the wireless market; the potential to continue to experience a high rate of customer turnover; the ability of Sprint to provide back office billing, subscriber care and other services and the quality and costs of such services or, alternatively, our ability to outsource all or a portion of these services at acceptable costs and the quality of such services; subscriber credit quality; the ability to successfully leverage 3G products and services; inaccuracies in financial information provided by Sprint; new charges and fees, or increased charges and fees, imposed by Sprint; the impact and outcome of disputes with Sprint; our ability to predict future customer growth, as well as other key operating metrics; the impact of spending cuts on network quality, customer retention and customer growth; rates of penetration in the wireless industry; our significant level of indebtedness and debt covenant requirements; the impact and outcome of legal proceedings between other PCS Affiliates of Sprint and Sprint; the potential need for additional sources of capital and liquidity; risks related to our ability to compete with larger, more established businesses; anticipated future losses; rapid technological and market change; an adequate supply of subscriber equipment; the current economic slowdown; and the volatility of AirGate PCS' stock price.

For a detailed discussion of these and other cautionary statements and factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in this news release, please refer to AirGate PCS' filings with the SEC, especially in the "risk factors" section of AirGate PCS' Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003, and in subsequent filings with the SEC. Except as otherwise required under federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the SEC, we do not have any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.