BellSouth to Launch Trial of High-speed Wireless Internet Access in Rural Louisiana.

WASHINGTON, DC--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 1999--

Trial intended to determine feasibility and cost

effectiveness of implementing state-of-the-art technology

to close the rural digital divide

BellSouth Corp. today announced an initiative to bring high-speed, wireless Internet access to citizens of Houma, LA as part of a ground-breaking trial to close rural America's "digital divide."

BellSouth Chief Executive Officer F. Duane Ackerman unveiled the Louisiana wireless Internet trial in Washington Thursday at the "Digital Divide Summit," a meeting of leaders from the technology industry, government, civil rights community and community organizations. The conference was chaired by Commerce Secretary William M. Daley and focused on expanding access to information technologies to under-served populations and areas.

The Louisiana trial will be begin early next year and is designed to provide BellSouth with a more accurate assessment of the technical and financial feasibility of providing its rural customers an affordable, high-speed Internet connection using wireless technology. Traditionally, consumers living in rural areas do not have access to high-speed connection mediums, such as ADSL, due to the cost of installing the necessary infrastructure in their areas.

Participants in the trial will be given a special modem and wireless receiver for downloading information. They will use traditional dial-up connections to establish a link with BellSouth's Internet access service. The information will be sent to their computers via the wireless technology at speeds up to 1.5 megabits a second, which is 50-100 times faster than a traditional land-line, dial-up Internet connection.

"BellSouth realizes the importance of establishing a method of delivering high-speed Internet access to areas of the country not wired with traditional connection technologies," said Ackerman. "This trial is an opportunity to test the cost-effectiveness of this method for delivering high-speed, high-quality Internet service to our customers who otherwise wouldn't have it."

BellSouth is conducting the trial over the Wireless Communications Service (WCS) spectrum that it purchased at auction from the FCC. The company is looking at the WCS spectrum as an option for delivering superior Internet accessibility to its rural customers.

During the trial, BellSouth is partnering with ADC Telecommunications (Nasdaq: ADCT; www.adc.com), which is providing its Cellspan broadband wireless equipment, and integration and operations expertise. ADC, headquartered in Minnetonka, Minn., is a leader in the innovation of voice, video and data delivery technologies, including wireless broadband technology.

"ADC looks forward to working with BellSouth to deliver high quality Internet access to the people of Houma," said William J. Cadogan, ADC's president and chief executive officer. "Broadband wireless is uniquely suited to expand access to the Internet to all sectors of society, and we are excited that BellSouth is aggressively pursuing its use with its customers."

The trial is part of BellSouth's ongoing effort to insure that all consumers within the company's nine-state region are given the opportunity to benefit from the latest advancements in telecommunications technology. Through innovations like wireless Internet access, BellSouth is working to identify cost-effective ways to reach even the most isolated customer and provide them with the most comprehensive service possible.

BellSouth is a $25 billion communications services company. It provides telecommunications, wireless communications, cable and digital TV, advertising and publishing, and Internet and data services to nearly 36 million customers in 19 countries worldwide.