LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- ALLTEL (NYSE:AT - News) and Bradford & Bingley Group of West Yorkshire, England, today announced both companies have agreed to discontinue an information services joint venture. The joint venture, ALLTEL Mortgage Solutions, Ltd., was created to provide mortgage administration and information technology products to the mortgage lending industry in the United Kingdom. Bradford & Bingley turned over its mortgage processing operation and 600 employees to the joint venture in July 2000. ALLTEL Mortgage Solutions developed a platform that had the potential to improve the cost structure of mortgage processing in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, the business climate for outsourcing in the United Kingdom has limited the entity's ability to leverage the business across a broad base of customers. Discontinuing the joint venture will result in a one-time, non-cash writedown in the range of $30 million to $50 million pre-tax, which reflects the company's investment in the joint venture and unwind costs. The writedown will be recognized in the fourth quarter. Alltel Communications Products Inc.