ALLTEL customers will soon be able to take the Internet with them wherever they go.

ALLTEL and Phone.com, Inc.(Nasdaq:PHCM), a leading provider of mobile Internet software and services, announced today that the companies have signed an agreement to enable ALLTEL to trial wireless Internet service using the Phone.com UP.Link server software. ALLTEL will offer wireless Internet service to customers in Little Rock and Charlotte, N.C. By the end of the year, ALLTEL plans to offer wireless Internet in most of its top markets.

ALLTEL's wireless Internet service lets customers send and receive e-mail, access certain Internet sites and get weather reports, sports scores and stock quotes on their wireless phones. The company will use Phone.com?UP.Link server software.

"The ability to access e-mail and the Internet anytime and anywhere is a big step in further simplifying our customers lives," said Kevin Beebe, ALLTEL's group president of communications. "Wireless Internet service further enhances our popular digital advisor feature, which allows customers to receive e-mail messages and other text messages on their wireless phones."

"The convergence of the Internet and wireless communication has begun to change the way people communicate, work and play," said Maurice Jeffery, vice president of North American sales for Phone.com. "ALLTEL's decision to rapidly bring to market, on a trial basis, Phone.com's wireless Internet enabling technology is a fundamental step toward recognizing the next generation of wireless communication and new commercial opportunities."

ALLTEL is conducting technical trials for the new service in Little Rock and Charlotte. After the trials, ALLTEL plans to offer wireless Internet to customers in its top markets across the United States.

"The Little Rock and Charlotte trials will help us determine what customers want the offering to look like and how it will be priced," said Roger Woziwodzki, director of wireless product management for ALLTEL. "Additionally, the trial will ensure internal systems such as billing and customer service are ready to support the service when it is offered to customers."

Customers will need Internet-capable digital wireless phones to use the wireless Internet service. ALLTEL currently offers the Qualcomm 860 and the Motorola 7860 handsets. By the end of the year, the majority of digital handsets offered by ALLTEL will have a Web browser.

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