CELLULAR PHONE FIRM CONTINUES TO EXPAND

SPRINGFIELD -- AllTel Mobile Communications Inc. did not exist nine years ago. Today the business has licensing to operate cellular phone systems in most of central, northern and eastern Arkansas and in southwest and southeast Missouri. And its network extending further.

Sometime in 1991, the Little Rock Ark.-based corporation will have cellular service on line in Cape Girardeau, one of its priority areas. Once the interlocking mesh is established, travelers, "roamers" in industry language, will be able to have access to a continuous cellular system from St. Louis to Memphis and on to Little Rock. Another system will link Little Rock and Springfield along Interstate 65.

"Cape Girardeau service will start later in 1991," said AllTel spokesman Miles Brusherd in the company's Springfield office. "There are many factors on the timing - weather, contractors and more."

Rather than leasing an existing antenna tower, the company will erect its own tower in Cape Girardeau this year. It has not yet purchased property for the site. "We have several target sites being studied," he said. "They are along Interstate 55." The tower will be between 150 and 400 feet tall when erected.

The Federal Communications Commission, which regulates cellular phone licenses, is pushing to establish cellular links along the interstates as a priority so that gaps in service along the routes will be reduced or eliminated. One result of the priority is that communities distant from the interstates will be among the last to receive cellular service.

AllTel acquired the wire line license rights for southeast Missouri and the Bootheel. CyberTel Cellular of St. Louis, which was not available for comment, acquired the non-wire license. AllTel is developing a cooperative agreement with Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems of St. Louis to link St. Louis and southeast Missouri, according to AllTel.

Brusherd expects strong competition between the two carriers, and whichever one goes on line first will have a foot in the door over the competition. The marketing plan calls for convincing potential customers of the cellulars' value as a business tool, allowing more productivity and time economy for workers.

The company's plan does not include a local office at first. Brusherd indicated AllTel will use existing local businesses, such as communications shops, dealers and electronic stores, as agents. Specialty and general retailers are expected to start handling cellular phones when the local demand warrants the supply.

Among the expected customer types - salespersons, doctors, and contractors - Brusherd added two other unanticipated potential groups. One category is riverboat operators along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, who would be in range of Interstate 55 and 70 networks.

The other group is federal field agents with the Drug Enforcement Agency Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and similar agencies. The agents use cellular phones for communication when wanting more privacy.

Radio scanners monitor frequencies used by law enforcement agencies, as exemplified by a group arrested for burglary recently in Cape Girardeau using a portable scanner to evade police.

Radio frequencies used for cellular phones have been eliminated from scanners. Brusherd said cellular phone eavesdropping, which is a federal offense, is possible but difficult since one of over 800 channels is used at random and can change as a person travels.