Communications

  Every day, thousands of people sign up as ALLTEL Communications customers. What attracts them and makes ALLTEL the ideal communications company for their needs? They choose ALLTEL because we use technology to make a complicated industry simple - easy to understand, easy to use and easy to communicate.

  For example, in June 1998, ALLTEL became the first company in Jacksonville, Fla., to offer a bundled communications package - digital wireless, paging, Internet access and long- distance - all on one bill, all for one price. The tremendous customer response confirmed our strategy of simplicity and value as the best customer proposition. We have seen similar results in our other Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) markets of Little Rock, Ark., and Charlotte, N.C. In Little Rock, we achieved dominant CLEC market share within our first year of offering service.

  Behind these achievements lies a clear commitment to providing what customers want and a consistent strategy for delivering it. As demonstrated by our mergers with 360° Communications and Standard Group in Georgia, our pending merger with Aliant Communications in Nebraska and our acquisition agreements for properties in Durango, Colo., and Dothan, Ala., we have maintained a strong geographic focus, maximizing our potential for delivering bundled communications services to business and residential customers alike.

  We were one of the first communications companies to merge wireless and wireline operations into a single service organization, and we are still one of the few companies with the in-house expertise to build and integrate the systems that make such convergence possible. And now, as we link our markets with 8,500 miles of fiber and continue to extend our service territory, we have the market position we need to strengthen our customer relationships and take our business further than ever before.