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To: Rajala who wrote (31259)	5/28/1999 5:07:00 PM
From: Ruffian	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

Air Touch-Cdma Phones> From the May 31, 1999, issue of Wireless Week AirTouch Delivers Pricing Punch By Monica Alleven Here's another one for the one-rate wars. AirTouch Cellular in Southern California last week came out with the company's most aggressive effort yet toward snaring some of the high-end customers who have favored AT&T Wireless Services Inc.'s Digital One Rate. The offering, called National Calling Plans, eliminates domestic long-distance and roaming charges nationwide. Sold only in AirTouch's Southern California market, the plans are a first for the regional carrier, which until now didn't have the same roaming and long-distance perks that nationwide carriers enjoy. AirTouch price plans in other markets limit free long-distance and roaming to certain geographical areas or don't include them at all, and it's unknown when or if AirTouch, which prides itself in catering to local markets, will expand the Southern California plans. The traditionally pricey Southern California market, where AT&T Wireless started selling its popular Digital One Rate in March, still will offer the California Choice and AirTouch Digital plans. But the all-inclusive offering was meant, in part, to attract some of the business customers who previously went with AT&T Wireless. A lot of businesses use a pooled approach, meaning individual subscribers must use a particular carrier because that's the company's chosen service provider. That hurt AirTouch, because even though some customers preferred its brand, the carrier couldn't propose the same plan AT&T Wireless offered, said AirTouch spokeswoman Melissa May. Now when businesses look at one-rate wireless plans, AirTouch will be in the running as well. Sprint PCS offers an all-inclusive one-rate plan starting at $30 a month, much lower than AT&T Wireless' $90 monthly starting point and lower than AirTouch's $50. However, AirTouch said it won't charge consumers more if they use the analog network. Customers will need an 800 MHz code division multiple access/800 MHz analog phone, which sells for as little as $50, but unlike Sprint PCS, which offers a plan with a set number of off-network minutes, AirTouch can leverage its existing analog network and not limit analog calls. Corporatewide, AirTouch has been slower to react in the one-rate wars than some other regional carriers, such as Bell Atlantic Mobile Inc. In November, AirTouch's Western region launched a national home rate pricing plan to customers in 10 states. That plan allowed customers to pay their home rates while traveling almost anywhere, but they still had to pay long-distance charges, which were as low as 10 cents a minute. AirTouch has been able to obtain good rates in today's highly competitive long-distance industry, but it had to renegotiate inter-carrier roaming agreements. "We have taken a look at where our customers are roaming and which has the greatest impact, so you prioritize your carriers," said Jim Naughton, project manager at AirTouch. The company also wanted to make sure its offer would be financially viable for AirTouch, he added. Besides securing better roaming agreements, AirTouch this summer expects to offer CDMA phones with preferred roaming capabilities, which allows the roaming handset to search and find the carrier with the best rate. AT&T Wireless has been using a similar function in its time division multiple access technology to cut down on roaming costs. Like other carriers, AirTouch in Southern California will offer discounts for customers that use more than one phone. But unlike other offers, AirTouch representatives say, its plan is as simple as it gets. "There's really nothing more to it," Naughton said.