This increase was driven by capital expenditures. These decreases were partially offset by increases from spending on initiatives, as well as on other projects. These project costs include the Year 2000, which is aimed at preparing and upgrading systems for the next millennium. In addition, customer retention and acquisition costs for Wireless Services grew in total due to increased cellular subscribers. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of communications services revenue decreased in the quarter to 29.8 percent, compared with 30.5 percent in the 1996 third quarter.
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