`Ready & Safe this Hurricane Season' BellSouth Mobility Urges Florida Residents to Have a Family Communications Plan Before and After a Hurricane.

News & Business Editors

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 23, 2000

With hurricane season approaching, Florida residents will be reminded to take stock of their households and assess what they will need to cope with a potentially serious natural disaster. BellSouth Mobility wants to remind residents that chief among their needs is a Family Communications Plan.

BellSouth Mobility suggests that it is wise to pre-plan how residents will communicate with family members, employers and friends during and after a natural disaster.

"We often don't realize until after a hurricane passes just how many people we need to call," said Pat Collier, public relations manager for BellSouth Mobility. "The call could be for help or just to tell your Mom that you're OK. If you have a plan, you won't be caught unprepared."

BellSouth Mobility recommends that residents follow these tips to develop a Family Communications Plan:

FAMILY COMMUNICATIONS PLAN...

--   Designate a family member, who is in another part of the country,
     as a point person to act as a central information source/contact.
--   Plan for those affected by the natural disaster to contact that
     point person immediately to relay their status and location.
--   Make sure you have the cellular phone numbers of family members
     and friends you will want to speak with directly.

BEFORE A HURRICANE HITS...

--   Make sure your cellular phone works and that your batteries are
     good.
--   If you haven't used your phone in a while, test it before the
     storm.
--   If you have a pre-paid cellular account, check your balance of
     minutes remaining to make sure you have sufficient time in your
     account.
--   Charge all cellular phone batteries and have an adequate supply
     of charged batteries on hand.
--   Keep your cellular phone with you in a safe, dry place during the
     storm.
--   Make sure you have a car charger. Fill up your gas tank in case
     you need to use your car cigarette lighter port for extra
     cellular phone power.
--   If you depend on your home phone's memory-storage function, make
     sure you have a hard copy of important phone numbers on hand.
--   Store critical emergency numbers in your cellular phone's memory
     for quick, easy dialing.
--   To maintain communications and receive messages, have Voice Mail
     service for your cellular phone.
--   When emergency officials issue a "Hurricane Watch" (meaning that
     a storm's landfall is imminent,) forward your calls from your
     regular landline number to your cellular phone to assure
     uninterrupted service.

AFTER A HURRICANE PASSES...

--   Expect delays in getting cellular phone calls through because of
     the high demand for cellular service after a storm. Keep trying
     to call and please be patient.
--   Keep cellular calls short to allow emergency calls to get
     through.
--   Protect yourself from exhaust emissions/carbon monoxide from your
     car while using your cellular phone with your car charger by
     making sure your car is in a well-ventilated area.

BellSouth Cellular Corp. companies BellSouth Mobility (BMI) and American Cellular Communications Corporation (ACC) provide wireless communications services to customers in 10 states. BMI serves customers in seven Southeastern states. ACC markets operate under a variety of names in California and Texas and as Cellular One in Indiana. BellSouth Cellular Corp. is a subsidiary of BellSouth Corporation (NYSE:BLS). For more information, visit our web site at www.bellsouthmobility.com