Approximately 350 CIRI shareholders attended the 1999 CIRI Annual Meeting, held in Anchorage on Saturday, June 5, at the Sullivan Arena, in person or by proxy.   The annual meeting is held each year to elect five directors for three-year terms to the CIRI Board of Directors. Elected to the board this year were: B. Agnes Brown, A. Debbie Fullenwider, Sharon L. Isaak, Robert W. Rude and Robert N. Woodhead. Additionally, there were 31 propositions brought forth at the meeting, none of which passed.   Shareholders who attended in person heard a detailed report on the company's business operations.   Aside from business, shareholders enjoyed lunch and

were offered information about the various services provided by the CIRI family of non-profit agencies and various CIRI subsidiaries.

VoiceStream Wireless acquires Another Leading Provider CIRI Expands VoiceStream Partnership VoiceStream Wireless Corporation, a leading provider of wireless communications services and a joint venture partner of CIRI's, is acquiring Omnipoint Corporation, another wireless provider with major markets in the northeast United States. As part of the transaction, CIRI is making a $75 million investment in a newly created joint venture, owned 50.1 percent by CIRI and 49.9 percent by VoiceStream, to acquire the designated entity licenses held by Omnipoint.   "The combination of VoiceStream Wireless and Omnipoint brings together the two major providers of GSM (Global Standard for Mobile Communications) in the United States, making the combined company one of the largest licensees in the world employing GSM technology," said John W. Stanton, chairman and CEO of VoiceStream Wireless. "After the merger, the combined company, together with CIRI, will have licenses to provide service to more than 175 million people with operating systems from New York to Hawaii. With licenses in 17 of the top 25 markets, the combined company, together with CIRI, will be one of the major providers of telecommunications services in the country."   CIRI and VoiceStream have two existing joint ventures and have been working together successfully since 1995. The existing joint ventures provide PCS service ­ which is digital wireless telephone service ­ in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Phoenix, Arizona; and Seattle, Spokane and other parts of Washington state under the brand name VoiceStream.   In early 1999, a Cook Inlet/VoiceStream joint venture was formed and successfully bid on additional wireless

telephone licenses in a Federal Communications Commission auction of broadband PCS licenses. With these additional licenses, the partnership is expanding its wireless telephone service to Chicago, Illinois and surrounding markets; Dallas, Texas and surrounding markets; Omaha, Nebraska; and northern Louisiana.   The new Omnipoint transaction will further expand the Cook Inlet/VoiceStream joint venture to Philedelphia, Detroit and Miami areas.   Carl Marrs, president and CEO of CIRI, said, "We are excited to participate in this transaction with VoiceStream, which has been an excellent partner." Marrs also noted, "With this transaction, and the recent PCS auction results, CIRI becomes one of the nation's most significant designated entity providers of PCS service."   For more information about VoiceStream, visit their website at www.voicestream.com.