Southwestern Bell Expands Missouri Airtime Rates Into Arkansas

Makes it less expensive for Central and Eastern Missouri customers to use cellular phones in Arkansas

St. Louis, Missouri, March 10, 1997

Southwestern Bell Wireless is expanding its Central and Eastern Missouri calling scope into Arkansas, making cellular phone use less expensive for Missourians who travel into Arkansas, it was announced today.

Effective immediately, Southwestern Bell customers can now place and receive "local" cellular phone calls at their home airtime rates as far west as Kansas City, and as far north as Chicago, southwardly on Interstate 55 into the Missouri Bootheel and throughout most of Arkansas.

With the inclusion of Arkansas, Southwestern Bell adds more than 50,000 square miles to its existing Missouri coverage area, which includes the Greater St. Louis region, Jefferson City, Lake of the Ozarks, Cape Girardeau and the Rolla regions.

This new home-calling area could mean substantial savings for Southwestern Bell customers because it eliminates the daily roaming charges and roamer rates cellular users may experience when traveling to other markets and beyond their "home coverage areas."

"We're making it more economical and convenient for our customers to use their phones while traveling in other areas," said Frank Boyer, vice president/general manager of Southwestern Bell Wireless. "Many of our customers travel to Arkansas for business and pleasure, now they can make cellular calls in multiple coverage areas for the price of one."

In addition to Arkansas, other areas included in the expanded home coverage area for Southwestern Bell Wireless customers throughout Central and Eastern Missouri are Kansas City, Central Illinois, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C./Baltimore, and most of upstate New York.

When St. Louis customers travel to one of these other areas, their normal home airtime rates will apply. To take advantage of home rates in the new expanded Arkansas area, customers will need to switch their cellular phone from the "B" band to the "A" band, a simple process that takes just a moment. Customers should consult their cellular phone owner's manual or call Southwestern Bell for further instruction at 1-800-331-0500.

Applicable long-distance charges, including those incurred when calling between central and eastern Missouri and cities in Arkansas will continue to apply. In addition, the roam light will continue to come on when traveling between either state.

"We're proud to offer our customers in central and southeastern Missouri, not only one of the largest coverage areas, but also one of the most affordable," Boyer said. "Today's announcement makes it clear that Southwestern Bell is leading the industry's efforts to lower the costs of using a cellular phone locally and in other markets."

Southwestern Bell Wireless is the leading cellular service provider in Central and Eastern Missouri. It is a subsidiary of SBC Communications Inc., one of the world's leading diversified telecommunications companies, with tens of millions of customers in 13 U.S. states and eight countries. Through its subsidiaries, it provides innovative communications services under the Southwestern Bell and Cellular One brands, including local and long-distance telephone, wireless, paging, Internet access, cable TV and messaging services, as well as telecommunications equipment and directory advertising and publishing. SBC (www.sbc.com) reported 1996 revenues of $13.9 billion.