Ownership Submission
FORM 3
 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  Crawford Johnny R
 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
12/21/2004		 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
AIRGATE PCS INC /DE/ [PCSA]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
AIRGATE PCS INC., 233 PEACHTREE STREET STE 1700		 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
VP, Eng. & Network Ops.
 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

ATLANTA, GA 30303		 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)		 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)		 3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Non-Qualified Employee Stock Options (right to buy) (1)   (2) 04/08/2014 Common Stock 4,500 $ 15.93 D  
Non-Qualified Employee Stock Options (right to buy) (3)   (3) 12/17/2012 Common Stock 800 $ 4.1 D  
Non-Qualified Employee Stock Options (right to buy) (4)   (4) 12/18/2011 Common Stock 400 $ 233.3 D  
Non-Qualified Employee Stock Options (right to buy) (5)   (5) 11/15/2010 Common Stock 341 $ 183.75 D  
Incentive Stock Options (right to buy) (5)   (5) 07/28/2009 Common Stock 3,000 $ 70 D  
Restricted Stock Units (1)   (6)   (7) Common Stock 1,500 $ (8) D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
Crawford Johnny R
AIRGATE PCS INC.
233 PEACHTREE STREET STE 1700
ATLANTA, GA 30303		       VP, Eng. & Network Ops.  

Signatures

Johnny R Crawford 12/22/2004
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) These Non-Qualified Stock Options and the Restricted Stock Units are granted pursuant to the terms of the AirGate PCS, Inc. Amended and Restated 2002 Long Term Incentive Plan (the "2002 LTIP").
(2) These Non-Qualified Stock Options vest in the amount of 25% of the total grant on each anniversary of the grant date, commencing on April 8, 2005.
(3) These Non-Qualified Stock Options are granted pursuant to the terms of the AirGate PCS, Inc. 2002 Long Term Incentive Plan. The options vest in the amount of 25% of the total grant on each anniversary of the grant date, commencing on December 17, 2003.
(4) These Non-Qualified Stock Options are granted pursuant to the terms of the AirGate PCS, Inc. 2000 Amended and Restated Long Term Incentive Plan. The options vest in the amount of 25% of the total grant on each anniversary of the grant date, commencing on December 18, 2002.
(5) These Incentive Stock Options are granted pursuant to the terms of the AirGate PCS, Inc. 1999 Stock Option Plan. All these options have vested.
(6) These Restricted Stock Units vest on April 8, 2007, subject to the achievement of certain performance objectives as detailed in the 2002 LTIP.
(7) None.
(8) 1 for 1.

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