AirTouch Cellular Venture starts service in India; Company is one of India's first cellular operators.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 1995--Reinforcing its position as a global leader in high-growth wireless markets, AirTouch Communications (NYSE: ATI) today announced that its cellular venture in Madras has been inaugurated, making it one of the first cellular operators in India, and the first in Madras.

The company, RPG Cellular Services, received its cellular license less than a year ago. Ms. Jayalalitha, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, the state in which Madras is the capital city, formally inaugurated the network. The cellular system uses GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) digital technology, and will cover about 90 percent of the 6.5 million people in Madras.

"This is a landmark event for Indian customers," said Arun Sarin, president and chief executive officer of AirTouch International. "We are very proud that our venture will bring the convenience and freedom of cellular communications to people in Madras.

"AirTouch and RPG engineers have demonstrated their unparalleled technical expertise by building this network in just a few short months," Sarin added.

AirTouch owns a 20 percent share in RPG Cellular Services, and is the lead technical partner with responsibility for designing and building the network. Other major partners in the company are RPG Enterprises, with a 51 percent interest, and Vodafone, with a 26 percent share.

Separately, AirTouch and RPG Enterprises have applied for a cellular license in Madhya Pradesh, a region with about 70 million people, as well as other regions. The Indian Department of Telecommunications has said it will award licenses for 20 "Telecom Circles" by the end of September. In 1994, cellular licenses were granted for India's four largest cities -- New Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras.

Madras, India's fourth largest city, is a promising cellular market due to its expanding business base, large film industry, and export houses. With strong pent-up demand for telecommunications service and a burgeoning middle class, India is expected to be a very fast-growing wireless market. Cellular service is being made available for the first time, and there are only about eight landline phones per 1000 people, compared to an average of 600 phones per 1000 people in countries with more developed infrastructures.

AirTouch Communications is a global wireless communications company, with interests in cellular, paging, personal communications services, the Globalstar satellite system, and other operations in the United States and 12 other nations: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Thailand. The company, based in San Francisco, serves over 4.2 million customers worldwide.

CONTACT: AirTouch

Susan Rosenberg, 510/210-3910