American Tower Builds Foundation in Mexico.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 1999--

American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with TV Azteca, S.A. de C.V. (NYSE:TZA), one of two broadcast television companies in Mexico, with respect to approximately 200 broadcast towers. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, American Tower has agreed to loan up to US$120 million to TV Azteca in exchange for annual net payments of approximately US$13.9 million, plus the rights to all existing and future third-party revenue on the towers.

The towers are strategically located throughout Mexico and cover approximately 95% of the population, including highly populated cities such as Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Acapulco and Cancun. The towers are structurally designed to accommodate additional broadcast antennas and have significant capacity for cellular, PCS, paging, microwave back-haul and other telecommunications providers.

"This is an exciting deal for American Tower as it provides us with a significant foundation upon which to establish ourselves in Mexico, and it represents our first significant foray outside of the U.S.," stated Steve Dodge, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Tower. "With over 100 million people and the second largest economy in South and Central America, Mexico's wireless market has strong growth potential, and we plan to continue to look for additional opportunities to expand our presence in this country."

Michael Gearon Jr., Executive Vice President and Director of American Tower, added, "This agreement with TV Azteca provides American Tower with a portfolio of towers that are ideally suited for broadcasters and wireless carriers as they build their networks. These towers have not been marketed in the past and have tremendous capacity and upside for revenue growth."

"This transaction will greatly benefit TV Azteca since it allows us to leverage our assets and use our capital more efficiently. We will use the financial resources generated by this transaction to repay short term debt, thereby strengthening our balance sheet," said Ricardo Salinas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TV Azteca. "This agreement also marks the beginning of what I know will be a long-lasting, strategic relationship with American Tower. We are extremely proud to participate in the first major transaction of this type in Mexico."

TV Azteca is one of two broadcast television companies in Mexico, operating two national television networks (Azteca 13 and Azteca 7), through more than 250 owned-and-operated stations located throughout Mexico. TV Azteca also operates national broadcast television networks in Costa Rica and El Salvador.

American Tower is the leading independent owner, operator and developer of broadcast and wireless communications sites in North America. Giving effect to this and other pending transactions, American Tower operates approximately 9,400 towers in the United States and Mexico, including more than 8,300 owned or leased towers and over 1,100 managed sites. Giving effect to this and other pending transactions, American Tower's portfolio includes over 195 broadcast tower sites in the U.S. and approximately 200 broadcast tower sites in Mexico. Based in Boston, American Tower has a U.S. footprint of approximately 9,200 sites, with regional hub offices in Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and San Francisco. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, ATC Teleports, Inc., American Tower also owns and operates, giving effect to pending transactions, over 110 satellite antennas in various locations across the United States. For more information about American Tower Corporation and ATC Teleports, please visit our web sites www.americantower.com and www.atcteleports.com.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" concerning future expectations, plans or strategies that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The Company wishes to caution readers that certain factors may have affected the Company's actual results and could cause results for subsequent periods to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement made by or on behalf of the Company. Such factors include, but are not limited to (i) substantial capital requirements and leverage principally as a consequence of its ongoing acquisitions and construction activities, (ii) dependence on demand for wireless communications, use of satellites for internet data transmission, and implementation of digital television, (iii) the success of the Company's tower construction program and (iv) the successful operational integration of the Company's business acquisitions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequently occurring events or circumstances.