ALLTEL, Aliant Complete $1.8 Billion Merger

January 18, 2007

For additional information contact:

Corporate Communications 501-905-8000
corporate.communications@alltel.com

Release date: July 2, 1999

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- ALLTEL and Aliant Communications completed their$1.8 billion merger today, adding Nebraska to ALLTEL's extensivecoverage area for wireless and wireline communications services offeredprimarily in the southeastern and midwestern United States.

Under the terms of the agreement, each share of Aliant common stock isbeing exchanged for .67 of a share of ALLTEL common stock. Thetransaction will be accounted for as a pooling-of-interests.

"The merger of ALLTEL and Aliant expands ALLTEL's geographic footprintin a dynamic manner," said Joe T. Ford, ALLTEL chairman and chiefexecutive officer. Through the merger, ALLTEL adds the entire state ofNebraska to its current wireless service area, as well as wirelineoperations in Lincoln and 22 counties in the southeast part of thestate.

"The merger increases ALLTEL's wireline and wireless overlap in ourcommunications markets and makes the merged company a more formidablecompetitor in the communications marketplace," Ford said. Aliant'scommunications operations consist of the following:

  • 316,000 wireless customers
  • 14,500 paging customers
  • 16 retail stores, 100 agents
  • 293,000 wireline access lines
  • 34,000 Internet access subscribers
  • 70,000 long-distance customers
  • A state-of-the art digital wireline network that contains more than 1,700 miles of fiber optic cable
  • A competitive local exchange operation (Omaha and othercommunities) that is offering the full "bundle" of communicationsservices to customers outside its traditional wireline service area
  • A wholesale operation with an extensive fiber optic network
From the standpoint of size, the merged company will have:

  • More than $6 billion in annual revenues*
  • More than $9 billion in assets*
  • Approximately 7 million communications customers in 25 states*
  • More than 24,000 people employed worldwide
  • Information services clients in 53 countries and territories
  • 52 million wireless POPS (population)
     * Statistics include the Liberty Cellular merger agreement announced June 22

"When we announced the merger in December, we knew that thecompanies fit together very well," said Ford. "Since then, as we havestudied it closer, we are more pleased than ever about the strengthsthat the combined organization will offer."

After a transition period, the merged company will offer its products and services under the ALLTEL brand.

ALLTEL is a customer-focused, information technology company thatprovides wireline and wireless communications and information services.

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