AirTouch Cellular Sets New Industry Standards for Affordable Prepaid Service.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 23, 1999--

Building on the success of its prepaid cellular service, AirTouch Cellular is offering better values than ever to its customers, including bundled long distance at no extra cost.

Starting today, prepaid customers who purchase talk time in standard denominations of $30, $50 or $100 will get a much longer period in which to use their allotment of minutes -- six months, compared to the previous 90 days.

And long distance service, which used to cost prepaid customers an extra $0.20 per minute, will now be included in their standard airtime rate at no extra charge.

AirTouch charges as little as $0.35 a minute for prepaid service, one of the best deals in the industry. A recent survey by the Boston-based Yankee Group cited AirTouch as one of the three lowest-priced carriers in the United States for prepaid service.

"The latest enhancements to our prepaid service once again set a new industry standard for value," said Arun Sarin, CEO of the U.S. Asia Pacific region of Vodafone AirTouch Plc, of which AirTouch Cellular is a unit. "By making cellular service more affordable and accessible to every segment of the public, we will bring the benefits of wireless communications to a huge new market."

Prepaid service is ideal for people who have felt uncomfortable with monthly service obligations, those with credit problems, and budget-minded customers such as students and small business owners who want to control their spending.

Prepaid service accounted for one quarter of AirTouch's net cellular and PCS subscriber gains in the second quarter of 1999. But the potential of the prepaid market has only just been tapped in the United States; in Vodafone AirTouch's European markets, prepaid service typically brings in two-thirds of new subscribers.

The Yankee Group's new study predicts that prepaid service will grow from an estimated 3.5 percent of the U.S. wireless market in 1998 to 22 percent in 2003, thanks to more affordable and convenient service offerings.

AirTouch Cellular has made prepaid especially convenient by selling service cards in more than 4,000 retail outlets in 17 states, including convenience stores, gas stations, drug stores and traditional cellular channels such as AirTouch stores.

First-time cellular users can buy an AirTouch Prepaid Package for a suggested retail price of about $80, which comes with everything they need to "cut the cord" and enjoy the freedom of wireless communications. The box includes an Audiovox phone, a prepaid card good for 30 minutes of talk time, and instructions.

Customers can activate the service with a simple, toll-free call to 1-888/BUYTIME. AirTouch service representatives will explain how the program works, terms and conditions of service, where to buy replenishment cards and answer any questions. Printed materials in the box and telephone assistance are available in Spanish.

AirTouch serves 9 million U.S. cellular and PCS customers on a proportionate basis. Its ventures operate in 25 states and 22 of the top 30 U.S. markets, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. AirTouch is part of Vodafone AirTouch Plc, the world's largest wireless communications firm, based in the United Kingdom. It has mobile operations in 23 countries on five continents, with more than 28 million proportionate cellular customers. For more information, visit the AirTouch web site at www.airtouch.com.