BellSouth FastAccess ADSL Gives New Meaning to Instant Internet Access.

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 1, 1997--

Birmingham, Ala. Becomes Testing Ground for the Latest in High-speed, Uninterrupted Internet Access for Consumers and Businesses

It's every Web surfer's dream: lightning-fast Internet access with continuous, reliable connections.

BellSouth (NYSE:BLS) is one step closer to making that dream a reality with today's introduction of its BellSouth(R) FastAccess(SM) ADSL service trial in Birmingham, Ala. BellSouth FastAccess ADSL keeps residential and business customers connected to the Internet around the clock using their existing phone lines and provides virtually instant downloads.

To give typical customers the opportunity to evaluate the most advanced technology in high-speed Internet access, BellSouth is inviting residential and business customers in several Birmingham-area communities to participate in this groundbreaking trial, scheduled to take place through May 29, 1998.

"This trial of BellSouth FastAccess ADSL is indicative of BellSouth's strong commitment to deliver time-saving, cost-effective, high-speed data services to our customers," said Charlie Coe, group president, customer operations. "Through BellSouth FastAccess ADSL, Web surfers will have immediate access to late-breaking news, travel reservations, stock quotes, movie and restaurant listings, on-line directories and e-mail. Because the service is always 'on-line,' there's no more waiting for dial-up modems to connect, and no more busy signals. Telecommuters can access their companies' data networks or intranets as fast as if they were sitting in the office."

That's just what customers can do today. In the future, uninterrupted connections will help businesses that host their own Web sites keep their virtual store fronts open 24 hours a day. In addition, BellSouth FastAccess ADSL frees the line so customers can chat on the phone while surfing the Internet. They also can fax documents from a Web site without saving them to their hard drive first. And the new service doesn't interfere with other calling features such as Caller ID or Call Waiting. If for some reason the ADSL service is interrupted, regular phone service is unaffected.

ADSL, or asymmetrical digital subscriber line, is a transmission technology for ordinary telephone lines. This technology is capable of downloading information at speeds of up to several megabits per second. Return transmission is 128 kilobits per second. The download speeds are 30 - 100 times faster than the ordinary 28.8 kilobits-per-second modem.

During this eight-month period, BellSouth is providing installation and ADSL modems, network interfaces and voice/data splitters to the trial customers at no charge. The monthly fee for the residential BellSouth FastAccess ADSL feature is $20.00, in addition to normal monthly telephone service charges. Internet service provider charges will also apply. Business customers will pay higher prices for additional capabilities.

Initial participants will use BellSouth.net(SM) service for their Internet access during the course of the trial. However, BellSouth FastAccess ADSL is being made available to other ISPs who are expected to participate in the future. For the trial, BellSouth.net service will provide unlimited ADSL Internet connectivity for $29.95 a month. BellSouth.net's standard dial access service remains $19.95 per month when customers connect using regular phone lines. These prices include BellSouth's charges for connection to its local Internet gateway service and the Global Service Provider charges for connection to the global Internet. Customers can have BellSouth.net service billed to their BellSouth telephone bill or charged to their credit card.

BellSouth.net will also provide ADSL trial customers with free Netscape(TM) browser software in both Windows `95 and Windows NT versions, no sign-up charges, electronic mail and free access to expert Help Desk service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

John Robinson, president of BellSouth.net Inc., said, "You can only realize the full benefits of BellSouth FastAccess ADSL if your Internet service provider supports ADSL connection to the Internet. BellSouth is aggressively pursuing this new high-speed Internet access as a part of our core strategy -- to continually grow our capabilities as our customers' needs grow. Our involvement in the ADSL trial is an example of our commitment to bring the fastest and most reliable Internet services to our customers. You can count on BellSouth to deploy next generation Internet technology."

Trial participants must have a computer with at least a 100 megahertz Pentium processor, Windows 95 or NT operating system, a minimum of 16 megabytes of RAM, a minimum of 20 megabytes of free hard drive space, and an available slot for an Ethernet card. To participate in the BellSouth FastAccess ADSL experience, volunteers may sign-up through the BellSouth FastAccess ADSL Web site starting Wednesday, October 1, 1997, at www.bellsouth.com/fastaccess/adsl . Eligible participants will be notified via e-mail.

BellSouth (NYSE:BLS) is a $19 billion communications services company. It provides telecommunications, wireless communications, Internet access, directory advertising and publishing and other information services to more than 28 million customers in 20 countries worldwide. Its telephone operations provide service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, over one of the most modern telecommunications networks in the world for nearly 23 million telephone lines in a nine-state region that includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The BellSouth Web site is located at http//www.bellsouth.com .

CONTACT: BellSouth, Atlanta

Judy Miller, 404/927-7430

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