Alltel, CWA announce new contract in Kentucky

The agreement covers about 350 employees from CWA Locals 3371 and3372 that handle installation and repair of local telephone servicesfor residential and business customers in central and easternKentucky, including Lexington, Hazard and Ashland.

"We appreciate the employees' vote to ratify," said Barry Bishop,vice president of wireline services for Alltel in Kentucky. "Thisagreement recognizes the competitive realities of thetelecommunications industry and gives our company the flexibility andcontinuity needed to serve customers."

"This is a good contract for our members," said Mike Garkovich,president of Communications of America Local 3372. "We are pleased tohave reached an early agreement with Alltel. Now we can move forwardand concentrate on delivering superior service to our customers."

On Dec. 9, Alltel announced that it would spin off its landlinebusiness and merge it with VALOR Communications Group. The combinationwill create a major voice, broadband and entertainment servicescompany focused on the rural U.S. The new company will be calledWindstream Corporation and expects to trade on the New York StockExchange under the ticker symbol "WIN" upon close of the transaction,which is expected to be completed by mid-year.

About Windstream Communications

After separating from Alltel and merging with VALOR CommunicationsGroup, Windstream Communications will provide voice, broadband andentertainment services to customers in 16 states. The company willhave approximately 3.4 million access lines and about $3.4 billion inannual revenues. For more information, visit www.windstreamcomm.com.

About Alltel

Alltel is a customer-focused communications company with more than15 million customers in 36 states and nearly $10 billion in annualrevenues.