Exhibit 23(d)


                                     CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS


The Board of Directors
Vanguard Cellular Systems, Inc.

We consent to incorporation by reference in the registration statement on
Form S-8 of Vanguard Cellular Systems, Inc. (1996 Stock Option Plan for Non-
Employee Directors) of our report dated April 17, 1997, relating to the 
consolidated balance sheets of International Wireless Communications Holdings,
Inc. and subsidiary as of December 31, 1995 and 1996, and the related
consolidated statements of operations, stockholders' equity (deficit),
and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended
December 31, 1996, which report appears in the December 31, 1996 annual
report on Form 10-K/A of Vanguard Cellular Systems, Inc.

                              /s/ KPMG Peat Marwick, LLP


San Jose, California
August 29, 1997