AirTouch Passes 20 Million Wireless Customer Mark Overseas; CEO Sam Ginn Reports Record International Growth in July.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 20, 1998--AirTouch Communications (NYSE:ATI) chairman and chief executive Sam Ginn today reported that the company's foreign ventures crossed the 20 million customer mark in July, cementing AirTouch's standing as the world's largest wireless communications provider.

With more than 32 million total venture customers in 13 countries, AirTouch and its partners serve more than 10 percent of all the world's wireless subscribers.

"July was the best month ever for our international ventures," Ginn told a meeting of the Security Analysts of San Francisco. "They added an incredible 1.2 million customers, more than the combined population of San Francisco and Oakland."

Ginn cautioned against extrapolating future growth from one month's results, given the likelihood of increased competition in many markets and seasonal variations, including the August vacation pattern in Europe. But he said that AirTouch is on track to add more than 3 million proportionate pro forma cellular and PCS customers around the world this year.

"Propelled by the public's yearning for greater freedom at work, at home and at play, AirTouch has enjoyed average annual compound subscriber growth of 50 percent per year since 1994," Ginn told the analysts. "Being in the right market with the right technology and customer service has paid off financially. The company's operating cash flow margins are now at a record 40 percent on a proportionate basis."

AirTouch's global presence explains much of its current success and helps position it for continued strong growth, Ginn said. During the second quarter ended June 30, 1998, AirTouch's international ventures added a record 573,000 proportionate customers, accounting for 60 percent of the company's new subscribers. Much of that growth was fueled by dramatic customer acceptance of new pricing plans, including prepaid service that avoids activation and monthly service fees.

The company's global success allows it to leverage scale in purchasing and to identify and implement best practices across national boundaries, Ginn observed. International diversification also helps AirTouch weather temporary adverse conditions in particular countries or regions.

Opportunities abound for continued success abroad, Ginn pointed out. On average, only 12 percent of people have wireless service in countries outside the United States where AirTouch ventures operate, compared to 23 percent in the United States and more than 40 percent in some Scandinavian countries.

Ginn noted that AirTouch's U.S. operations continue to perform well, but cautioned that the company faces stiff competitive challenges and pricing pressures in many markets. The acquisition of MediaOne Group's U.S. wireless interests in April brought 2.4 million new proportionate customers. In the second quarter, AirTouch's U.S. cellular operations generated proportionate cash flow margins greater than 48 percent. AirTouch's PCS partnership, PrimeCo, also made significant advances in the second quarter, growing its total subscriber base to nearly 600,000.

AirTouch Paging, the only large U.S. paging company to show a profit and free cash flow, returned nearly $30 million in cash to AirTouch Communications in the first half of 1998, Ginn reported. AirTouch is benefiting from increased economies of scale from teaming the sales efforts of its cellular and paging operations.

AirTouch Communications, based in San Francisco, is the largest wireless company in the world. AirTouch owns interests in cellular, paging, and personal communications services in the United States, Belgium, Egypt, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, Spain and Sweden, as well as an interest in the Globalstar satellite system. Based on its ownership share of its global ventures, the company serves more than 15 million proportionate customers (over 32 million total venture customers) including those acquired through the April 6 MediaOne Group transaction.

Note Regarding Pro Forma Data:

The pro forma proportionate data included in this release reflect the MediaOne Group merger as if it had been effective on January 1, 1997, and after giving effect to the purchase method of accounting and other merger-related adjustments. These pro forma proportionate data are not necessarily indicative of the future results of operations of the combined Company or the results of operations of the combined Company that would have actually occurred. Given the significance of the merger, the Company believes that it is more meaningful to show comparative results on such pro forma basis.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for the historical information presented, the matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Such factors include: a change in economic conditions in the various markets served by the Company's operations which would adversely affect the level of demand for wireless services; greater-than-anticipated competitive activity requiring reduced pricing and/or new product offerings or resulting in higher customer selling costs; declining average revenue per customer due to an increasing proportion of consumer customers and declining rates; greater-than-expected growth in customers and usage driving increased investment in network capacity; the level of fraudulent activity; the impact of new business opportunities requiring significant up-front investments; the impact on capital spending from the deployment of new technologies; the possibility that technologies will not perform according to expectations or that vendor performance will not meet requirements; and higher than anticipated costs associated with correcting the Year 2000 problem. These and other factors related to the business are described in the Company's SEC filings, including in its 10-K under "Investment Considerations" and the quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.

For a copy of this or other AirTouch press releases, please call 1-800-344-7531 or visit the AirTouch web site at www.airtouch.com.

    CONTACT: AirTouch Communications, San Francisco



              Jonathan Marshall, 415/658-2209


              Kathy Reinhart, 415/658-2042