8-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549



                                    Form 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934


       Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): October 21, 2002


                                AirGate PCS, Inc.

             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


            Delaware                  027455                    58-2422929
            --------                  ------                    ----------
(State or other Jurisdiction    (Commission File No.)       (I.R.S. Employer
       of Incorporation)                                   Identification No.)

           233 Peachtree Street, N.E.                     30303
                                                          -----
           Harris Tower, Suite 1700,                   (Zip Code)
                Atlanta, Georgia
    (Address of principal executive offices)




       Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (404) 525-7272




                                 Not Applicable

          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)






Item 9.           Regulation FD Disclosure.

     On October 21, 2002, AirGate PCS, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("AirGate"),
issued a press release  announcing  it has appointed  William H. Seippel as vice
president and chief financial  officer.  Mr. Seippel  replaces Alan B. Catherall
who is leaving the company to pursue  other  business  interests.  A copy of the
press release referenced above is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1.


Item 7.           Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(c)      Exhibits.

       Exhibit No.   Description

       99.1          Press Release of AirGate PCS, Inc. dated October 21, 2002




                                   SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.



                                        AIRGATE PCS, INC.


Date: October 29, 2002
                                        By: /s/Thomas M. Dougherty
                                            -----------------------
                                            Thomas M. Dougherty,
                                            Chief Executive Officer

EX-99.1

Contact: Thomas M. Dougherty
                  President and Chief Executive Officer
                  404-525-7272


             AIRGATE PCS, INC. APPOINTS NEW CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

ATLANTA (October 21, 2002) - AirGate PCS, Inc., (Nasdaq/NM: PCSA), a Sprint PCS
Network Partner, today announced that it has appointed William H. Seippel as
vice president and chief financial officer. Mr. Seippel replaces Alan B.
Catherall who is leaving the Company to pursue other business interests.

Prior to joining AirGate, Seippel served as chief financial officer and chief
operating officer for Digital Commerce Corporation, a B2B e-commerce purchasing
solutions provider. His previous positions include executive vice president and
chief financial officer for Global Telesystems, an Internet and telecom
solutions provider to 20 European countries, and vice president of finance and
chief financial officer of Landmark Graphics Corporation, a provider of software
solutions for the oil and gas exploration industry. He received a Bachelor of
Science degree from George Mason University, where he currently serves on the
board of the business school. Seippel also has an MBA degree from American
University.

"Will Seippel brings extensive management and financial experience to AirGate,"
said Thomas M. Dougherty, president and chief executive officer of AirGate PCS.
"His wide-ranging background in finance makes him a great addition to our team
as we move from a start-up to a more operational stage focused on providing
quality Sprint PCS products and services in the most efficient manner possible.

"Alan Catherall has played a critical role in leading AirGate's growth since he
joined the Company in 1998," said Dougherty. "During his tenure, AirGate became
the first public affiliate of any wireless carrier, raising more than $400
million in debt and equity, and growing from a 15-person start-up to a company
with over 900 employees and anticipated fiscal year revenues in excess of $400
million. His contributions have been invaluable and we wish Alan the very best
in his new endeavors."




                                     -MORE-

About AirGate PCS
AirGate PCS, Inc., including its subsidiaries, is the Sprint PCS Network Partner
with the exclusive right to sell wireless mobility communications network
products and services under the Sprint brand in territories within seven states
located in the Southeastern and Midwestern United States. The territories
include over 14.6 million residents in key markets such as Grand Rapids,
Michigan; Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina;
Augusta and Savannah, Georgia; Champaign-Urbana and Springfield, Illinois; and
the Quad Cities areas of Illinois and Iowa. AirGate PCS is among the largest
Sprint PCS Network Partners. As a Sprint PCS Network Partner, AirGate PCS
operates its own local portion of Sprint's PCS network to exclusively provide
100% digital, 100% PCS products and services under the Sprint name in its
territories.

About Sprint
Sprint operates the nation's largest all-digital, all-PCS wireless network,
already serving more than 4,000 cities and communities across the country.
Sprint has licensed PCS coverage of more than 280 million people in all 50
states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In August 2002, Sprint became
the first wireless carrier in the country to launch next generation services
nationwide delivering faster speeds and advanced applications on Vision-enabled
Phones and devices. For more information on products and services, visit
www.sprint.com/mr. Sprint PCS is a wholly-owned tracking stock of Sprint
Corporation trading on the NYSE under the symbol "PCS." Sprint is a global
communications company with approximately 75,000 employees worldwide and $26
billion in annual revenues and is widely recognized for developing, engineering
and deploying state-of-the art network technologies

                                      -END-