AirTouch Cellular Leads Statewide Safety Effort to Bring Wireless Phones to Schools; Phone and Emergency Service Donations Begin With New School Year

Business Wire, Sept 7, 1999

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 7, 1999--

AirTouch Cellular Tuesday announced the first donation of cellular phones and free emergency wireless service to public high schools in Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento and San Diego counties -- the first distributions as part of its statewide school safety program, which was announced in May.

The cellular phones, which are specially programmed to connect directly to the appropriate local law enforcement agency, are designed to provide communication for teachers and administrators in the event of an emergency.

As part of the statewide program announced by AirTouch and Governor Gray Davis, AirTouch is donating approximately 10,000 Audiovox Communications Corp. wireless phones and three year's worth of airtime to more than 1,000 public high schools throughout the company's California service areas.

AirTouch, in conjunction with the Governor's Office of Criminal Justice Planning (OCJP), Sheriff's departments, local law enforcement agencies and Audiovox, will begin distribution of phones to schools in Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento counties this month. Throughout the school year, phones will be made available to schools in the additional 19 California counties where AirTouch is licensed to provide wireless service.

AirTouch will work with local schools and County Offices of Education to allocate phone quantities, coordinate the distribution process and provide instruction and training to school officials. Schools will be advised to place phones in student gathering areas where landline phones may not be accessible, such as cafeterias and gymnasiums, as well as at athletic events or outside on school grounds.

"Experts acknowledge the immense popularity of cellular phones as perhaps the greatest contribution to public safety since the launch of 9-1-1 service, and nowhere is safety more important than in our schools," said Nancy Hobbs, executive vice president and general manager of AirTouch Cellular.

"By providing the only statewide safety effort offering schools cellular phones and access to emergency services, AirTouch is taking action to improve the security of everyone on campus. Whether it's reporting a crime or accident, or providing communications in time of disaster or emergency, cellular phones can be a vital component in improving personal and school safety."

Through the school safety program, AirTouch has committed to a donation of at least $3 million worth of phones and cellular service over the next year. AirTouch's service, which is being donated for a minimum of three years, is valued at approximately $2 million per year. The Audiovox MVX502 phones, which retail for $109, are valued at a minimum of $1 million. The total value of the phones and three years of airtime is estimated at $7 million. Audiovox has committed to a donation of $100,000 worth of phones to the program.

Participating organizations in the school safety program include AirTouch Cellular, the OCJP, County Offices of Education, Audiovox, and Sheriff's Departments and other law enforcement agencies in each of the counties covered by the program.

For more information regarding the program, contact your county Office of Education, or Gary Winuk at the Governor's Office of Criminal Justice and Planning (OCJP) at 916/324-9204. For media inquiries only, contact Andrew Colley, AirTouch Cellular at 949/222-8396. Additional information is available on the OCJP Web site at www.ocjp.ca.gov or AirTouch's Web site at www.airtouch.com, under "News Releases" U.S. Cellular.

AirTouch serves more than 9 million U.S. cellular and PCS customers on a proportionate basis. Its ventures operate in 25 states and 22 of the top 30 U.S. markets, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. AirTouch is part of the Vodafone AirTouch Group, the world's largest wireless communications firm, based in the United Kingdom. It has mobile operations in 24 countries on five continents, with more than 31 million proportionate customers. For more information, visit the AirTouch Web site at www.airtouch.com.