Press Release: March 15, 2001

WR Hambrecht + Co Initiates Coverage of ALLTEL Corporation (AT) with a Neutral Rating and a Price Target of $60

Wireless and wireline telecommunications services company serves regional operating clusters

San Francisco, CA, March 15, 2001—WR Hambrecht + Co today initiated research coverage on ALLTEL Corporation (AT) with a neutral rating and a price target of $60. WR Hambrecht + Co’s Wireless analyst Peter Friedland cited the increased competitive profile of the company’s wireless segment and difficult EPS comparisons for the first two quarters of 2001 as the primary basis for the rating. WR Hambrecht + Co offers all its research reports free and real-time at www.wrhambrecht.com.

“While we believe ALLTEL is a solid, profitable company, we believe questions about growth in the wireless business and difficult EPS comparisons will likely hinder near-term stock performance,” Friedland said.

Friedland projects total revenues will reach $7.6 billion in 2001, and $8.2 billion in 2002, up from $7.1 billion in 2000.

ALLTEL Corporation provides wireless and wireline telecommunications services in regional markets, as well information processing services to financial services institutions and telecommunications carriers.