PCS PrimeCo quality network ready for 1996

DALLAS - PCS PrimeCo, L.P., one of the fastest growing companies in 1995, is well positioned to offer customers Personal Communications Services (PCS) the latter part of 1996. PCS has been described as the "next generation of cellular services" with the ability to deliver digital voice, data and video transmissions to "people" instead of places. The company closed the year by signing separate definitive contracts worth almost $1 billion with infrastructure suppliers AT&T Network Systems and Motorola Cellular Infrastructure Group to provide Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems in specific geographic areas that PCS PrimeCo serves.

Consumers and businesses are only months away from experiencing the higher quality that PCS PrimeCo's wireless services will afford them. Last October, PCS PrimeCo made history by placing the first PCS telephone calls in Dallas and Houston using commercially installed CDMA technology in the 1900 Megahertz radio band. PCS PrimeCo's Chicago, Miami, Richmond, Tampa and Jacksonville markets also completed their first calls in 1995.

All of the testing of CDMA technology, including that of PCS PrimeCo's PCS systems, have confirmed its benefits including superior voice quality, enhanced privacy, longer-lasting battery power in the phone and greater fraud protection - validating the reasons why PCS PrimeCo and so many other wireless carriers have selected CDMA.

PCS PrimeCo owns PCS licenses in 11 MTAs across the U.S. and will begin offering PCS services to customers in the second half of this year. The company built - in under a year--a business that will meet head--on the demand for wireless services in Chicago, Dallas, Honolulu, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Richmond, San Antonio and Tampa. Some of the accomplishments reached in 1995 are:

• Won 11 PCS licenses worth $1.1 billion in FCC auction covering 57 million potential customers;

   

• 700 jobs created and 11 office locations established by year-end '95 in 11 major metropolitan areas where employees are building switching and radio sites, clearing microwave spectrum, establishing retail and distribution channels, and more;

   

• Selected CDMA technology for its enhanced voice quality, increased network capacity, superior privacy and fraud protection, ability to interconnect with PCS PrimeCo's owners' cellular networks, ease of evolution to broadband services and longer-lasting battery power in handsets;

   

• Made first calls in the world on PCS spectrum using commercially installed CDMA technology from PCS PrimeCo's Dallas and Houston systems; other cities followed ensuring PCS PrimeCo will be serving customers '96;

   

• Formed relationships with Texas Utilities, Telephone Electronics Corp. and others to enable the company to quickly deliver services to customers.

PCS PrimeCo is right on target to meet the growing enthusiasm in the U.S. for wireless freedom in communications. Today, approximately 14 percent of the population use wireless phones representing about $14 billion in annual revenue. Most industry sources forecast the strong demand for wireless telephones will continue, with today's 45 percent annual growth flourishing to increase the number of wireless phone users to 100 million users by the year 2000.

Market appeal also will drive growth in wireless usage. PCS PrimeCo's customer research, for example, shows consumers want services that are easy to use, buy and afford, while business customers are looking for wireless data services such as store-and-forward messaging (voice, fax, e-mail) and Internet connection. PCS PrimeCo will offer products and services that meet customers' specific needs.

Likewise, the anticipated lifting of regulatory constraints could boost wireless sales as telecommunications companies begin to offer a wider variety of services such as long-and short-distance calling.

PCS PrimeCo plans to move full-force into 1996 by introducing a new national brand name and signing up customers for wireless phone service in time for the holiday shopping season.

PCS PrimeCo, the four-way partnership of AirTouch Communications, Bell Atlantic, NYNEX and US West, won 11 licenses to provide PCS services. PCS PrimeCo and its four owners plan to create a nationwide wireless network by combining their existing cellular properties and PCS PrimeCo's new PCS licenses. The total footprint covers 26 of the nation's major markets representing nearly 170 million potential customers in 46 states and the District of Columbia.