COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 9, 2000 -- American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) has agreed to share its 800 MHz radio system with MedFlight of Ohio, a critical care transport provider that offers helicopter, airplane and ground transportation between hospitals and from accident scenes. MedFlight will use the 800 MHz radio as its primary form of communications between its base in Columbus and field units throughout the state. The radio is similar to a cellular telephone and places a large number of users on a fixed number of channels. Incoming calls are directed to the first available channel from a pool of common channels available to all system users. Under terms of the five-year renewable agreement, AEP will provide project management, including training, programming, coordinating delivery, installation and monitoring of the radio system. MedFlight will pay AEP a monthly user fee that will help offset the cost of operating the system, maintenance and future upgrades. The Federal Communications Commission does not allow utilities to make a profit when sharing radio systems. David Trego, AEP’s director - telecommunications, says sharing agreements between public safety and public service entities can reduce an organization’s internal communications costs, as well as provide benefits to the public. “There are a limited number of radio frequencies to grant, so it makes sense for eligible parties to share and free up other frequencies for various other users. In addition, when parties cooperate, fewer towers may be needed, which is beneficial from an environmental standpoint,” Trego said. “The FCC looks favorably on these arrangements because the sharing parties utilize less radio spectrum which is a scarce resource. The commission is able to allocate fewer frequencies to a pooled group of users because they are serving more parties.” MedFlight president, Rod Crane, said the 800 MHz radio system is more dependable and will increase the safety of its air and ground transportation crews. “The cell phone technology we previously used made it necessary to monitor two to four different modes of communication. The 800 MHz radio gives us the ability to combine our communications into one system, which is a huge quality issue for us,” Crane said. “Our communications team can worry less about whether or not they are being heard and focus on how the patient is doing and letting them know we are on the way. “Our air and ground crews no longer must depend on other agencies for our communications needs. We are now able to communicate directly with our communications and hospitals without the help of a third party, which increases the safety of our crews.” AEP also shares its 800 MHz radio system with South Central Power, an electric cooperative in neighboring Lancaster, Ohio, and is seeking other partners. AEP, a global energy company, is one of the United States' largest investor-owned utilities, providing energy to 3 million customers in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. AEP has holdings in the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Australia. Wholly owned subsidiaries provide power engineering, energy consulting and energy management services around the world. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio. On Dec. 22, 1997, AEP announced a definitive merger agreement for a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction with Central and South West Corp., a public utility holding company based in Dallas.