BellSouth Found Guilty of Discriminatory DSL Internet Practices.

Business Editors

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 6, 2000

After a year long legal battle with an Internet Service Provider, BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. (NYSE:BLS) has been found guilty of violating the law with its method of DSL deployment in Kentucky. In an Order issued November 30, 2000, the Kentucky Public Service Commission found that BellSouth had provided preferential and discriminatory access to its own Internet operations to the detriment of other Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

This ruling comes as the result of action taken on the part of IgLou Internet Services, a regional ISP based in Louisville, Kentucky. In November 1999, IgLou filed a formal complaint with the Kentucky Commission against BellSouth. IgLou's complaint charged BellSouth with various marketing abuses and practices that stifled competition.

"BellSouth occupies a very powerful position between IgLou and its customers," said Dannie Gregoire, Co-Founder of IgLou. "BellSouth can and has used this position to the benefit of its own Internet operations over all other ISPs. This coupled with a tariff that works to lock out other providers has provided BellSouth with an unfair and illegal advantage in deploying DSL and other Internet services," said Gregoire.

The Kentucky Public Service Commission ruled in favor of IgLou and has given BellSouth 30 days to alter its business practices. In recognizing the broad implications and significance of this case, the Kentucky PSC held that:

"The issues raised by the complaint transcend the private dispute

between the parties to this case. They are major ones for this

Commonwealth, implicating concerns involving the growth of

competition in our telecommunications market, as well as ease of

access to information technology that is crucial in determining

Kentucky's future."

"This is a significant victory for ISPs such as IgLou and establishes an important legal precedent for open access to DSL broadband services," said Jonathon Amlung, IgLou's attorney. "We believe this decision is the first of its kind against a Bell company," said Amlung.

The explosive growth of the Internet is widely regarded to be the result of fierce competition among the thousands of ISPs across the country. However, deployment of high speed broadband access has been much slower to develop. Many ISPs consider this to be the result of restrictive policies by the telephone and cable companies regarding access to their lines facilities.

"This ruling by the Commission is monumental in restoring a level playing field for IgLou and other ISPs in the Commonwealth of Kentucky," said Dean Brooks, Co-Founder of IgLou. "The ultimate success of broadband will depend heavily upon a wide level of consumer choice for access," said Brooks.

DSL is a type of telephone line technology that allows for high speed data connections between two locations. Currently, the most popular use for DSL is for broadband high speed Internet access. DSL lines typically can provide connections up to 28 times faster than standard analog modems.

IgLou Internet Services, Inc. ( www.iglou.com ) is Kentucky's first and largest independent Internet Service Provider and serves customers in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee.

For more information, visit http://www.iglou.com/pr/dec0600-1.