CenturyTel Completes Sale of Alaska Operations.

MONROE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 14, 1999--

CenturyTel, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) has completed the sale of its Alaska-based operations consisting of approximately 134,000 telephone access lines, cellular markets encompassing 75,000 pops and 3,000 subscribers, and 550,000 PCS pops, to Alaska Communications Systems Holdings, Inc. (ACS). CenturyTel received approximately $300 million in after-tax cash as a result of the transaction. ACS will be assuming $42 million in debt related to the acquired properties. CenturyTel retained the operations of the Alaska RSA No. 1 cellular market which encompasses Fairbanks and the surrounding territory and operates under the name Cellular One.

The markets, which operate under the names PTI Communications and CELLULINK, were purchased by CenturyTel in December 1997 as part of a larger transaction. The ACS management team has extensive experience operating in Alaska, and will continue to work with CenturyTel to ensure a smooth transition for customers and employees.

"We believe the divestiture of the Alaska properties will benefit CenturyTel's cost structure over the long term, as well as the employees and customers in those markets," said Glen F. Post, III, president and chief executive officer of CenturyTel. "Because of the location of these operations, CenturyTel made a strategic decision to sell the properties to focus on expanding our core operating clusters in the lower 48 states. This transaction allows us to reduce our debt and provides additional financial flexibility to pursue other potential opportunities."

CenturyTel, Inc. provides integrated communications services including local exchange, wireless, long distance, Internet access and security monitoring services to more than two million customers in 21 states. The company, headquartered in Monroe, La., is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CTL. CenturyTel is the ninth largest local exchange telephone company, based on access lines, and the 10th largest cellular company, based on population equivalents owned, in the United States. Visit CenturyTel's corporate website at www.centurytel.com.