Francisco Padinha Appointed by Portugal Telecom As CEO Of the Joint Venture With Telefonica in Brazil.

Business Editors

LISBON, Portugal--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 23, 2001

Portugal Telecom (NYSE: PT; BVL: PTCO.IN) today announced that Mr. Francisco Padinha will become the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Joint Venture (JV) recently signed with Telefonica. This JV will be the largest mobile operator in Brazil with approximately 10 million customers.

Francisco Padinha has been with PT for 32 years, occupying several positions in the Group. Francisco Padinha is currently the CEO of PT Prime, SGPS, S.A., the data and integrated solutions subsidiary of PT Group for corporate customers. PT Prime is present in Brazil through its subsidiary PrimeSys, having recently acquired BUS, the data networks of Banco Bradesco and Unibanco. Additionally, PT Prime has a presence in the B2B market. Francisco Padinha was a member of PT Executive Committee between 1994 and 2000 and currently is a member of the PT Board of Directors.

Upon approval by regulatory authorities (ANATEL), the JV will join all the assets of PT and Telefonica in Brazil, with approximately 10 million customers, creating Latin America's largest mobile operator. The joint venture operates in areas accounting for over 70% of the country's total GDP, and currently has a market share of over 60% in these areas.

The JV will bring together the stakes of Portugal Telecom in Telesp Celular (Sao Paulo), Global Telecom (Santa Catarina and Parana) and CRT Celular (Rio Grande do Sul), and those of Telefonica Moviles in Tele Sudeste Celular (Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo), CRT Celular (Rio Grande do Sul) as well as Tele Leste Celular (in Bahia and Sergipe, subject to approval by the partners).

The JV will be an operating company with a Board of Directors consisting of six members. Francisco Padinha will be the CEO of the operating team. Telefonica will soon announce the appointment of the CFO.

The JV will create the largest mobile company in Brazil and will be the natural consolidator in this market. The JV will aggressively pursue a business plan centered on market share gains, expansion of the subscriber base, leadership in the launch new services, wireless data and mobile internet access. The unmatched scale of the joint venture ensures that it is in a position to reinforce its market leadership and provide superior returns to its shareholders.

Appendix: Francisco Padinha Resume

This information is also available at www.telecom.pt.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Such statements are not statements of historical fact, and reflect the beliefs and expectations of the company's management. The words "anticipates," "believes," "estimates", "expects," "forecasts," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "projects" and "targets" and similar words are intended to identify these statements, which necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, the actual results of operations of the company may be different from the company's current expectations, and the reader should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the company does not undertake any obligation.

Portugal Telecom is listed on the Lisbon and New York Stock Exchanges and traded on London SEAQ International. Information may be accessed on the Reuters 2000 Service under the symbols PT and PTCO.IN, on Bloomberg under the symbol PLTM PL and on Quotron under the symbol PT.

RESUME

Francisco Jose Azevedo Padinha, was born on October 22, 1946 in Portugal and holds an engineering degree in Telecommunications and Electronics from Technical University of Lisbon (IST).

These academic qualifications have been enhanced through specific courses in the field of Management, namely PADE from AESE/University of Navarra and Management of Innovation and Technology from M.I.T./Sloan School of Management.

Since 1969 he has served in various positions in Companhia Portuguesa Radio Marconi (intercontinental telecom operator) where, from 1989 to December 1992, he ran the Department of Research and Development.

Beginning in December 1992 through June 1993 he sat on the Telecom Portugal S.A. Board of Directors.

From April 1993 through June 1996 he served as President of the Board of Directors of Cabo TV Azores.

Since June 1994 he has been a member of the Board of Directors of Portugal Telecom, SA, the Portuguese telecom operator founded by the merging of the two former national operators: Telecom Portugal, S.A. and Telefones de Lisboa e Porto S.A. (TLP).

Since October 1994 he has been a member of the Board of Directors of TAGUSPARK, a Science and Technology Park located in the Metropolitan area of Lisbon.

Since November 25, 1998 he has been a member of the Board of Telesp Participacoes in Brasil, which owns Telesp Cellular.

From July 1999 through October 2000 he served as Chairman of PT-Inovacao and PT Sistemas de Informacao.

Since October 1999 he has been CEO of PT-Prime SGPS, S.A.

He is a member of the Portuguese "Ordem dos Engenheiros," where he has served as a member of the Council of Admission and Qualification, in the field of electrotechnical and telecommunications engineering.

He is the Vice President of Portuguese Section of IEEE and he is member of the Armed Forces Communications Electronics Association.

He was the Portuguese delegate to the Telematics Management Committee, (1991-1993) and he has been invited to serve as a reviewer and evaluator at the Telematics and Race programs of the EEC. He has likewise been active in the formation of EURESCOM the European Institute for Research and Strategic Studies in Telecommunications.