SUMMARY: New service offerings, price flexibility make GTE Federal Wireless Telecommunications Services contract more appealing.

Chantilly, Va. – GTE is offering expanded services, bundled service packages, more flexible pricing and, for a short time, reduced account set-up fees to make the GTE Federal Wireless Telecommunications Services (GTE Fed Wireless) program more attractive to government customers and more competitive with commercial services.

Service enhancements include the addition of SkyTel paging, as well as special phone-plus-service cellular package offerings in key markets across the country.

In addition, as a special promotion to encourage interest among Federal customers, GTE is waiving non-recurring direct-bill account set-up charges for new cellular customers through March 31, 1998, saving customers as much as $150.

The new contract components are being implemented following contract modifications negotiated with the General Services Administration. The GTE Fed Wireless contract continues to be the only procurement vehicle available to Federal purchasers that offers convenient, single-stop shopping and bill consolidation for users of wireless services across the country.

Dean Shepard, wireless solutions business manager for contractor GTE Government Systems, said, "These changes enable GTE to compete head-to-head with commercial providers for the individual Federal customer. Thanks to GSA’s willingness to add this new flexibility to the contract, Federal customers can now buy directly from the Fed Wireless program with confidence that they are getting a market-competitive deal. This is just one more step in GTE’s continuing efforts to provide a single point of contact for the wireless communication needs of Federal customers."

New service offerings include national paging services provided by SkyTel, a pioneer in the paging industry, providing local, regional and national paging services to Federal customers over two nationwide networks. SkyTel’s Advanced Messaging Network supports a variety of nationwide messaging applications, including SkyWord Plus™ guaranteed paging and SkyTel 2-Way, a fully interactive messaging service. Federal purchasers can use the Fed Wireless contract to buy paging services wherever they are available in the United States.

In addition, GTE has negotiated new service/product packages with several major carriers, enabling customers to purchase cellular telephones at reduced prices when they sign one-year service contracts. These popular packages, similar to those offered to retail customers through phone stores, are available in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore market as well as in Tampa, Fla., San Francisco, Cal., and Houston and Austin, Tex.

For information about services, ordering or pricing, Federal buyers should call their Fed Wireless account representative or the GTE Fed Wireless Service Center at 1-888-333-9473 or visit GTE’s Fed Wireless home page on the Internet at www.fedwireless.com. Information about SkyTel paging services is available at www.skytel.com.

With revenues of more than $21 billion in 1996, GTE is one of the largest publicly held telecommunications companies in the world. In the United States, GTE offers local telephone and wireless service in 29 states, and long-distance service in all 50 states. GTE was the first among its peers to offer "one-stop shopping" for local, long-distance and Internet access services. GTE is also a leader in government and defense communications systems and equipment, directories and telecommunications-based information services, and aircraft-passenger telecommunications.