Alamosa PCS, (NYSE: APCS), a Sprint PCS Network Partner, and Sprint PCS (NYSE: PCS) today announced two significant expansions of their affiliation management agreement.
The expanded agreements, entered into in December 1999, allow Alamosa PCS to extend the clarity of Sprint PCS Service throughout 23 Basic Trading Areas (BTAs) located in areas of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas and Wisconsin, representing a licensed population of nearly 3.17 million people.
This expansion brings the total licensed population managed locally by 18 Sprint PCS Network Partners to more than 68 million people in 42 states. Sprint PCS is the nation's fastest growing wireless provider, offering the largest all-digital, all-PCS nationwide network with service in more than 4,000 communities and cities nationwide.
Alamosa PCS's original affiliation management agreement included coverage of Flagstaff and Prescott, AZ; Durango, Grand Junction and Pueblo, CO; Albuquerque and Santa Fe, NM; Abilene, Amarillo, El Paso, Laredo, Lubbock, Midland and Odessa, TX; and other cities throughout these states for a total licensed population in excess of 5.2 million people.
The current expansions bring the total licensed PCS coverage managed by Alamosa PCS to approximately 8.4 million people:
-- Texas Telecommunications Limited Partnership, a subsidiary of
Alamosa PCS Holdings, Inc., will serve the Arizona cities of
Douglas, Kingman, Lake Havasu City, Sierra Vista and Yuma and
highway I-10 from Tucson east to the Tucson-Sierra Vista border;
the California city of El Centro and highway I-8 from San Diego
east to Casa Grande, AZ; portions of the Nevada county of Mohave;
the New Mexico cities of Clovis and Hobbs; and the Texas city of
Big Spring, for a licensed population of more than 740,000
people.
-- Alamosa Wisconsin Limited Partnership, a subsidiary of Alamosa
PCS Holdings, Inc., will serve the Wisconsin cities of Appleton,
Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison (including
I-90/94 in Juneau County and I-39 in Marquette County),
Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Sheboygan, Steven's Point and Wausau.
Additionally, Alamosa Wisconsin Limited Partnership will cover
the Rice Lake area of Baron County and highway 8 in Polk County.
This represents a licensed population of more than 2.4 million
people.
"This is an exciting time for Alamosa PCS," said Jerry Brantley, president and chief operating officer of Alamosa PCS. "This new management arrangement allows us to very quickly extend the Sprint PCS footprint into some very attractive markets, expanding the existing service that Sprint PCS customers in surrounding metropolitan areas already enjoy. The Sprint PCS Affiliation Program enables Alamosa PCS to become a leading provider of wireless services in our markets."
Alamosa PCS recently completed a successful Initial Public Offering (IPO) and was recently named the 1999 Sprint PCS Affiliate of the Year.
"As Sprint PCS became the first wireless carrier to add more than one million new customers in the fourth quarter of 1999, our coverage strategy has never been more important. Sprint PCS Network Partners, like Alamosa PCS, play a key role in helping us meet the expectations we set forth on behalf of a rapidly-growing customer base," said Tom Mateer, vice president of affiliations for Sprint PCS. "The success of our Network Partners in building solid financial backing, launching markets on time, and expanding their service areas is a `win win' for everyone involved. In the clearest terms, our Network Partners glean the benefits of a strong Sprint PCS Brand, while Sprint PCS customers enjoy the benefits of extended Sprint PCS Nationwide Coverage in even more areas where they live, work, travel and play."
As part of their management agreements with Sprint PCS, Alamosa - like each Sprint PCS Network Partner is building an all-digital, CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) wireless network, which will operate on the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) PCS licenses owned by Sprint PCS.
Each Network Partner operates and markets the network as Sprint PCS Service, leveraging the branding, marketing and distribution programs of Sprint PCS.
In exchange, Sprint PCS Network Partners benefit from Sprint PCS' relationships with key infrastructure and phone manufacturers, and national retail distribution partners.
In addition, Sprint PCS Network Partners utilize the PCS network and customer care support assets of Sprint PCS including 24-hour network management and monitoring via the Sprint PCS National Network Operations Control Center; billing, voicemail; and Sprint PCS Customer Care.
Sprint PCS operates the largest 100 percent digital, 100 percent PCS nationwide wireless network in the United States, already serving the majority of the nation's metropolitan areas including more than 4,000 cities and communities across the country. Sprint PCS has licensed PCS coverage of nearly 270 million people in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
For more information, visit the Sprint PCS web site at sprintpcs.com. Sprint PCS is a wholly owned tracking group of Sprint Corporation trading on NYSE under the symbol "PCS."
Sprint is a global communications company at the forefront of integrating long distance, local, and wireless communications services and one of the world's largest carriers of Internet traffic. Sprint built and operates the Unites States' first nationwide all-digital, fiber optic network and is a leader in advanced data communications services.
Sprint has $20 billion in annual revenues and serves more than 20 million business and residential customers. |
