Contact: Tom Dougherty
         President and Chief Executive Officer
         404-525-7272


              AIRGATE PCS, INC. COMPANY EXPANDS BOARD AND APPOINTS
                         THREE NEW INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS
                          ----------------------------
                   COMPANY HOLDS ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREOWNERS


ATLANTA (April 8, 2004) - AirGate PCS, Inc.  (NASDAQ:  PCSA), a PCS Affiliate of
Sprint,  today  announced  the  expansion  of  its  board  of  directors  to six
directors, including the appointment of three new independent directors. The new
independent directors are Mr. Max D. Hopper, Mr. John W. Risner, and Dr. Gail S.
Schoettler.

Mr. Hopper was elected to a three-year  term at the Company's  annual meeting of
shareowners held today in Atlanta.  Mr. Hopper is founder and chairman of Max D.
Hopper Associates and was formerly an executive with AMR Corporation. During his
20-year  tenure at AMR, Mr.  Hopper  served as chief  executive  officer,  chief
information officer,  chairman of the SABRE Group and senior vice president. His
term will expire at the annual meeting of shareowners in 2007.

Mr. Risner, C.F.A., joined the board on February 20, 2004, and will serve a term
until the Company's annual meeting in 2005. Mr. Risner is currently treasurer of
the  National  Neurofibromatosis  Foundation  and  previously  served  as senior
vice-president-senior   portfolio   manager-high  yield  bonds  for  AIG  Global
Investment   Management.   From  1991   until   1997,   Mr.   Risner   was  vice
president-senior  portfolio  manager-high  yield and convertible  bonds at Value
Line Asset Management.

Dr.  Schoettler,  whose  term  expires  in 2006,  served  as the  United  States
Ambassador  to the World  Radiocommunication  Conference  from 1999 until  2001,
where she was responsible for  negotiating a key  telecommunications  treaty and
was head of the United States  Department of Defense's  presidential  transition
for global  communications,  security and  intelligence.  From 1995 to 1999, Dr.
Schoettler  served as Lt.  Governor of Colorado and, from 1987 to 1995,  she was
State Treasurer of Colorado.

Current board members include Mr. Robert A. Ferchat,  chairman of the board, Mr.
Thomas M. Dougherty and Mr. Stephen R. Stetz. Mr. Ferchat,  who joined the board
in 1999 and has served as chairman of the board since 2003,  was  re-elected  by
shareowners  at the annual  meeting to a three-year  term expiring in 2007.  Mr.
Ferchat  previously served as chairman of the board of directors,  president and
chief   executive   officer   of   BCE   Mobile   Communications,   a   wireless
telecommunications company.

Mr.  Dougherty  has been  president and chief  executive  officer of AirGate PCS
since 1999, and a member of the Company's board since April 1999. Mr. Dougherty,
whose term will expire in 2005, was previously a senior executive of Sprint PCS,
and   executive   vice   president   and  chief   operating   officer  of  Chase
Telecommunications.

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AirGate PCS Expands Board of Directors
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April 8, 2004

Mr. Stetz, who joined the board in February 2003 and whose term expires in 2006,
is president and managing  director of  Matterhorn  Strategic  Partners,  LLC, a
financial  advisory firm  specializing  in mergers and  acquisitions.  Mr. Stetz
previously  served in various senior executive  positions with Monsanto Company,
including corporate vice president,  strategic  initiatives,  and vice president
and chief financial officer of Monsanto's $5 billion Agriculture Company.

With respect to the addition of the new board members,  Mr. Dougherty commented,
"We  recognize  the  importance  in  today's  business  environment  of having a
dedicated board of directors with members who can exercise  independent judgment
in carrying out their responsibilities to the Company and our shareholders.  The
wide-ranging  expertise and fresh perspective of these new independent directors
will strengthen an already  outstanding  group of directors.  We look forward to
working together to execute AirGate's strategy to build shareholder value."

Mr. Ferchat added,  "We are very pleased to welcome Max Hopper,  John Risner and
Gail  Schoettler  to the AirGate  board of  directors.  We are excited about the
valuable  contributions  that each of these  distinguished  leaders  can make to
AirGate's future growth."

Pursuant to the terms of the support agreement with certain  noteholders related
to the Company's recapitalization plan, completed on February 20, 2004, three of
the  Company's  new  board  members  must  be  approved  by a  majority  of  the
noteholders that were signatories to the support  agreement.  Mssrs.  Hopper and
Risner and Dr. Schoettler were approved pursuant to this process.

About AirGate PCS

AirGate PCS, Inc. is the PCS Affiliate of Sprint with the right to sell wireless
mobility  communications network products and services under the Sprint brand in
territories  within three states located in the Southeastern  United States. The
territories   include  over  7.4  million  residents  in  key  markets  such  as
Charleston,  Columbia, and  Greenville-Spartanburg,  South Carolina; Augusta and
Savannah,  Georgia;  and  Asheville,  Wilmington  and the  Outer  Banks of North
Carolina.

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