Clearnet to Cover Over 90 Percent of the Canadian Population at PCS Launch.

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22, 1997--

Dual-Mode handsets will let Clearnet clients travel coast

to coast with one wireless phone

(TSE, ME:NET.A., NASDAQ:CLNTF.) Clearnet Communications Inc. ("Clearnet") today announced an agreement that will offer Canada-wide coverage to Clearnet PCS (Personal Communications Services) clients when the company launches digital wireless PCS service this fall.

"This announcement confirms Clearnet's status as one of Canada's truly national wireless providers, covering over 90 per cent of the Canadian population and providing access in all 10 provinces from the moment we begin PCS service," said George Cope, Clearnet President and CEO. "We will offer clients call coverage that matches the service area offered by the largest cellular phone operators and in our digital PCS zones, clients will receive superior call quality, privacy and ease of use."

Clients will use Clearnet's leading-edge "dual-mode" PCS handsets, which function as full digital PCS phones in Clearnet PCS zones, yet switch seamlessly to traditional cellular phone service when the client travels outside those zones.

"What this means is that no one should buy a plain old cellular or single-mode PCS handset again, especially if users have to lock in to the long-term contracts demanded by traditional wireless providers," said Cope. "Buying a phone that isn't dual mode is like buying an obsolete black and white TV when full-colour sets are available." Clearnet's dual-mode handset functionality will be transparent, meaning clients shouldn't experience dropped calls even as they travel outside a PCS zone during a conversation.

"Clearnet's vision is all about making the wireless experience affordable, practical and easy, and this agreement ensures our clients will only ever need one wireless supplier and one PCS handset," said Cope. "They'll never worry about roaming charges wherever they go in Canada, never worry they have less coverage than the next person, and never worry about having to trade in their PCS handset." Other PCS providers have launched with single-mode phones, meaning people who buy them must upgrade to a dual-mode phone to receive national coverage.

Clearnet will launch full digital PCS service in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto this fall, and by the end of 1998 will provide digital PCS service in areas where approximately 20 million Canadians reside. The terms of Clearnet's Canadian roaming agreement, signed recently with Rogers Cantel Inc., were not disclosed.

Clearnet (TSE, ME: NET.A; NASDAQ: CLNTF) is a Canadian wireless communications company that operates the MikeTM digital network in Ontario and Quebec, and analogue dispatch communication services across Canada. Awarded a national 30 MHz Personal Communications Services (PCS) licence, Clearnet plans to launch PCS in Canada's largest urban centres in 1997.

CONTACT: Clearnet Communications Inc. - Media

Mark Langton, Mike: [phone]

Tel: [phone]

[e-mail]

or

Clearnet Communications Inc. - Investor Relations 

Vince Surette, Mike: [phone]

Tel: [phone]

[e-mail]