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Contact: Bill Loughman
         Chief Financial Officer
         404-525-7272


                            AIRGATE PCS, INC. AMENDS
                           SPRINT AFFILIATE AGREEMENTS

ATLANTA (September 14, 2004) - AirGate PCS, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCSA), a PCS Affiliate
of Sprint,  today  announced an addendum to its Sprint  Management  and Services
Agreements  regarding  back office  billing and service  charges,  new  customer
activation fees and roaming rates,  providing  immediate  substantial savings to
AirGate's cost structure. The new fees will be effective August 1, 2004, through
December 31, 2006.  The Addendum will be filed today as an exhibit to a Form 8-K
filing being made by AirGate.

AirGate also announced  that the companies have executed a Settlement  Agreement
and Mutual Release, which will result in the settlement of various financial and
contractual  disputes  including all  previously  disputed  charges  between the
companies.

"We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Sprint which solidifies
our business  partnership,"  commented Thomas M. Dougherty,  president and chief
executive  officer of AirGate PCS.  "Not only will AirGate  achieve  significant
cost savings,  but this  established rate structure also provides us with better
clarity on our key operating metrics going forward. As an additional benefit, we
can also opportunistically  explore refinancing  indebtedness such as our credit
facility with clarity as to the positive relationship we share with Sprint. Most
importantly,  with these  issues  resolved,  we can fully  focus our  efforts on
growing our business and gaining market share in our territory."

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.

This news release contains forward-looking  statements that are based on current
expectations,  estimates, forecasts and projections about the wireless industry,
the recapitalization plan, our beliefs and our management's  assumptions.  Words
such as "expects,"  "anticipates,"  "targets," "goals,"  "projects,"  "intends,"
"plans,"  "believes,"  "seeks,"  "estimates"  and  variations  of such words and
similar  expressions are intended to identify such  forward-looking  statements.
These  statements are not guarantees of future  performance  and involve certain
risks,  uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict.  Therefore,
actual  outcomes  and results may differ  materially  from what is  expressed or
forecasted in such forward-looking statements.

                                     -MORE-

AirGate PCS Amends Sprint Affiliate Agreements
Page 2
September 14, 2004

Factors that could cause actual results to differ include: our dependence on the
success of Sprint's wireless business;  the competitiveness and impact of Sprint
wireless pricing plans and PCS products and services; intense competition in the
wireless market and the unsettled nature of the wireless  market;  the potential
to  experience  a continued  high rate of  subscriber  turnover;  the ability of
Sprint to provide back office  billing,  subscriber  care and other services and
the  quality  and costs of such  services  or,  alternatively,  our  ability  to
outsource all or a portion of these services at acceptable costs and the quality
of such  services;  subscriber  credit  quality;  the  ability  to  successfully
leverage  3G  products  and  services;  inaccuracies  in  financial  information
provided by Sprint; new charges and fees, or increased charges and fees, imposed
by Sprint;  the impact and  outcome of  disputes  with  Sprint;  our  ability to
predict future  customer  growth,  as well as other key operating  metrics;  the
impact of spending  cuts on network  quality,  customer  retention  and customer
growth; rates of penetration in the wireless industry;  our significant level of
indebtedness  and debt  covenant  requirements;  the impact and outcome of legal
proceedings  between other PCS  Affiliates  of Sprint and Sprint;  the potential
need for  additional  sources of capital  and  liquidity;  risks  related to our
ability to compete with larger, more established businesses;  anticipated future
losses;  rapid  technological  and market  change;  the impact of wireless local
number  portability;  an adequate  supply of subscriber  equipment;  the current
economic slowdown; and the volatility of AirGate PCS' stock price.

For a detailed  discussion of these and other cautionary  statements and factors
that could  cause  actual  results to differ from those  contained  in this news
release,  please refer to AirGate PCS' filings with the SEC,  especially  in the
"risk  factors"  section of AirGate  PCS' Form  10-K/A for the fiscal year ended
September 30, 2003, and in subsequent  filings with the SEC. Except as otherwise
required under federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the SEC,
we  do  not  have  any   intention  or   obligation  to  update  or  revise  any
forward-looking  statements,  whether  as a result  of new  information,  future
events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.

                                      -END-