AirTouch Cellular Launches Digital Service In Omaha, First Digital Wireless Company to Offer E-Mail and Internet Messaging Donates 11 Digital Phones to Jimmy Wilson Jr. Foundation.

OMAHA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 24, 1998--AirTouch Cellular announced today that cellular customers throughout Omaha now have access to time-saving digital services made possible by Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology.

Marketed under the brand name AirTouch Powerband Digital, AirTouch's fully-digital 13 kilobit CDMA cellular service is available from Washington County to Bellevue (including Offutt Air Force Base) and from Underwood, Iowa to the Platte River.

"CDMA is widely recognized as the ultimate digital technology for cellular customers," said LeAnn Talbot, vice president and general manager for AirTouch Cellular in the Midwest. "With the AirTouch Powerband Digital network at their fingertips, AirTouch customers will enjoy extraordinary digital call quality, reliable connections, unsurpassed security and up to four and a half hours of talk time on a single battery."

"We also have put the technology to work for customers in the form of time-saving features that give users the power of a pager, answering machine, Caller ID box and cellular phone in one 7.2 ounce package," Talbot said.

The new Powerband Digital services -- available only to AirTouch Cellular subscribers in Omaha -- include text messaging, voice mail with notification, paging and Caller ID.

"The service that's brought the most excitement in markets where AirTouch Powerband Digital currently is available is e-mail and Internet messaging," said Talbot. "AirTouch is the first wireless company in Omaha to offer features that allow callers to send customer messages up to 50 characters in length to a AirTouch Digital user via e-mail and the World Wide Web."

AirTouch Powerband Digital phones operate in both the digital and analog mode, giving customers the ability to use their digital cellular phones throughout most of the country. "With millions of customers on the existing cellular network, high-quality analog service will continue to be the backbone of the wireless industry," Talbot said. "With AirTouch Powerband Digital, customers can enjoy the best of both worlds: The most advanced digital service available with high-quality analog included so they can use their AirTouch digital phones in more than 5,500 cities nationwide."

In order to enjoy the benefits of CDMA and AirTouch Powerband Digital features, customers will need to use dual-mode CDMA/analog phones available to AirTouch Cellular customers from Qualcomm.

"AirTouch is the largest wireless carrier in the world," Talbot said. "With that kind of experience and expertise backing AirTouch Powerband Digital, it promises to deliver unmatched quality and value to customers."

At a press conference held this morning at the Omaha Police Station, Talbot presented the Jimmy Wilson Jr. Foundation with 11 AirTouch Powerband Digital phones. "Like our customers, AirTouch is making safety concerns a top priority in Omaha and throughout the country," said Talbot. "We're pleased to demonstrate our convictions by supporting the Jimmy Wilson Junior Foundation with phones and Powerband Digital Service."

AirTouch Powerband Digital service is available in: Atlanta, Detroit, Salt Lake City, Portland, Denver, Seattle, Minneapolis, San Diego, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

AirTouch Communications, based in San Francisco, is the largest wireless company in the world with 29 million total global customers. AirTouch has U.S. cellular operations in 19 states including 15 of the top 30 U.S. markets: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Atlanta, Detroit, Cleveland, San Jose, Sacramento, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Phoenix and Minneapolis.

AIRTOUCH POWERBAND DIGITAL FEATURES

-- Text Messaging: This service allows customers to receive written messages on the display screen of their cellular phones. Messages can be up to 50 characters in length, and for the first time in Omaha callers can send custom messages to a AirTouch Digital user via E-Mail and the World Wide Web on the Internet. In addition callers can use a dial-up connection with a PC and modem or an AirTouch cellular operator who will take a verbal message and relay it as a text message to the cellular phone. If a phone number is included in the text message, the customer can simply push the SEND button to be immediately connected.

-- Voice Mail with Notification: This fully-featured voice mail system alerts a customer -- with a flashing icon on the screen of the phone and five short beeps -- that a voice mail message has been received. With a push of a button, the user is automatically connected to voice mail and can retrieve the message. The screen of the phone constantly updates customers on the number of messages received, the date and time received, and whether they have been marked urgent.

-- Call-Back Number: When a cellular customer's phone is busy, turned off or out of the service area, callers can use this feature to send a page and call-back number. Just like a pager, the phone stores the caller's number, allowing the cellular customer to return the call by simply pressing the SEND key.

-- Caller ID: The number of the calling party will be displayed on the screen of the AirTouch Digital phone. If the number is stored in the phone's memory, the name of the individual also will be displayed.

   CONTACT:  AirTouch
              Patti Finley, 425/603-7503