Belgian Court Overturns Appointment of Provisional Manager for GTS's Belgian Operations.

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

BRUSSELS, Belgium & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 6, 2000

Global TeleSystems, Inc. ("GTS") (NYSE: GTS; Easdaq: GTSG; Frankfurt: GTS), the leading provider of e*Business and borderless broadband services across Europe, announced today that the Belgian courts have, effective immediately, overturned the appointment of the provisional manager for GTS's operations in Belgium, who had been appointed last week.

In commenting on the Court's decision, Grier Raclin, GTS General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer, said: "We are extremely pleased with this decision by the President of the Commercial Court. We believe that this decision supports our view that the original appointment of the provisional manager was based entirely on inaccurate and misleading information, was legally unjustified and totally unnecessary. We remain focused on managing our businesses, both in Belgium and across Europe, free from this unfortunate distraction."

About GTS (www.gts.com)

GTS is the leading provider of e*Business and borderless broadband services across Europe, serving businesses and carriers with a range of broadband, hosting, Internet/IP and voice services. As an industry leader in Europe, the company has the largest cross-border fiber optic network; the largest Tier-1 IP backbone (GTS Ebone); the most widely deployed pan-European e*Business sales and service staff; and the largest pan-European customer base. GTS's first and most extensive trans-European broadband fiber network includes on-net points of presence in 38 European cities (50 cities planned) and stretches across 17,500 route kilometers (25,000 route kilometers planned) with seven city enterprise networks (CENS) (14 CENS planned), providing intra-city bandwidth. The company has its European operating headquarters in London; other corporate offices in Washington, D.C., Brussels and Cork, Ireland; and sales and service operations in 20 countries.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Although GTS believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by GTS or any other person that the objectives and plans of GTS will be achieved.