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                                                                   Exhibit 23.1

                   CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

The Board of Directors
AirGate PCS, Inc.:

   We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement
on Form S-8 of AirGate PCS, Inc. and subsidiaries of our reports dated November
9, 2001, with respect to the consolidated balance sheets of AirGate PCS, Inc.
and subsidiaries as of September 30, 2001 and 2000, and the related
consolidated statements of operations, stockholders' equity (deficit), and cash
flows for the years ended September 30, 2001 and 2000, and the nine months
ended September 30, 1999, and the related financial statement schedule, which
reports appear in the September 30, 2001, annual report on Form 10-K of AirGate
PCS, Inc. and subsidiaries.

                                          /s/ KPMG LLP

Atlanta, Georgia
December 11, 2001

