ATX Joins Partnership to Provide Internet Services to Residents of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Facilities.

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 13, 2002

ATX Communications, Inc. (OTCBB:COMM), a leading integrated communications provider, has been selected to partner with several notable organizations to provide dial-up Internet access and e-mail services to low-to-moderate income residents of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 and Public Housing facilities.

This partnership, called the Community Technology Network Project (CTNP), is initially targeting approximately 500,000 residents.

The CTNP partnership was developed and administered by Worldwide Communication Group, Inc. (WCG). In addition to ATX, participating corporations include The New Internet Computer Company (The NIC Company), HP (Hewlett Packard), Oracle Corporation, and Western Union Corporation.

Through its CoreComm subsidiary, ATX will provide Internet access and e-mail services through the NIC Internet appliance, a new type of computer made for the Internet. Services will be distributed to Section 8 residents and various public housing authority residents nationwide.

"We are proud to be the chosen ISP for this significant information technology project. This is a true public-private partnership," stated Dave Schroeder, Vice President of Consumer Strategic Alliances, for ATX's CoreComm Internet Group. "ATX provides the Internet access and e-mail service, The NIC Company supplies the hardware, WCG administers the program, and HUD and the independent housing authorities benefit financially through enormous cost savings associated with online processes."

"At last, the government and private sectors have devised a way to effectively bridge the digital divide," said Larry Ellison, founder of both The NIC Company and Oracle Corporation. "We are proud that the NIC appliance has been chosen to be part of this visionary solution."

The CTNP program is already underway, with ATX's Internet network facilities in place and ready to bring Section 8 and public housing residents online in the State of Indiana. During the remaining months of 2002, the CTNP program expects to expand to Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and various major U.S. cities.

ATX's participation in the CTNP program is intended to: 1) leverage CoreComm's state-of-the-art Internet network in tandem with the technology provided by the NIC Internet appliance to connect members of a population segment traditionally underserved by technology to the information highway; 2) produce a web site portal to provide a more efficient means for residents to communicate with multiple governmental agencies with which they interact regularly; and 3) support the development of an annual and interim Section 8 HUD application process from a patchwork of hundreds of manual applications to a more efficient, online standardized application process, cutting time and expenses for all involved.

"ATX is proud to participate in a program designed to streamline the communication with, and deliver digital technology to, residents living in subsidized housing," commented Thomas Gravina, ATX's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Access to the Internet is rapidly becoming more of a necessity for information communication and, through this program, we'll be providing an essential service to people who may not be able to get it any other way."

About ATX

Founded in 1985, ATX is a facilities-based integrated communications provider offering local exchange carrier and inter-exchange carrier telephone, Internet, e-business, high-speed data, and wireless services to business and residential customers in targeted markets throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions of the United States.

CoreComm is the subsidiary of ATX that provides residential telephony and Internet services in several Midwest states. ATX currently serves approximately 400,000 business and residential customers. For more information on ATX or CoreComm, please visit www.atx.com or www.core.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

In addition to the historical information presented, this release also includes certain forward-looking statements concerning the future development of the business. Such statements represent the Company's reasonable judgment on the future and are based on assumptions and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. The Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in factors affecting such statements.