Cincinnati Bell COO Ellenberger Elected a Director; Will Become President & CEO Upon LaMacchia's Retirement.

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 19, 1998--Directors of Cincinnati Bell Inc. (NYSE:CSN) today elected Chief Operating Officer Richard G. Ellenberger to the Board, and also elected him to succeed John T. LaMacchia as President and Chief Executive Officer when LaMacchia retires.

Ellenberger, 46, is also president and chief executive officer of Cincinnati Bell Inc.'s largest subsidiary, Cincinnati Bell Telephone Co. He joined Cincinnati Bell Telephone as president and CEO on June 1, 1997, and was elected chief operating officer of Cincinnati Bell Inc. on September 1, 1998.

Last April, LaMacchia, 57, announced his plans to retire as president and chief executive officer. He said then that he expected the transition to take no longer than a year. LaMacchia joined Cincinnati Bell in 1983 from AT&T Corp. He has been CEO for five years, president for nearly 11 years and a director for 13 years.

"It has been clear to me for some time that Rick Ellenberger is the ideal choice to lead Cincinnati Bell in the future," LaMacchia said. "In little more than a year, he has led Cincinnati Bell Telephone to the forefront of the nation's local telecommunications companies. He has done that by leveraging CBT's operating and customer-service strengths to develop and aggressively market products that meet rapidly growing demand for data, Internet, broadband and enhanced voice communications services. His vision of providing complete packages of integrated communications products to businesses and consumers in Cincinnati and other Midwestern cities is uniting our communications businesses, energizing our employees and awakening investors to the potential of the 'New' Cincinnati Bell."

Ellenberger has 19 years of experience in competitive communications markets, including 17 years at MCI. Through a number of executive management positions, Ellenberger contributed to solid sales growth, product development and business diversification efforts at MCI.

He led the Business Services division, MCI's largest division with $8 billion in revenues and 10,000 employees. Ellenberger was also CEO of XLConnect, a leading systems integration and data services company, during its formation as a public company in 1996.

Ellenberger is the fifteenth member of the Cincinnati Bell Board, which will be divided when Convergys Corporation, a 90-percent-owned subsidiary of Cincinnati Bell Inc., is spun off. Ellenberger, LaMacchia and six outside directors will remain on the Cincinnati Bell Board. The remaining seven directors constitute the Convergys Board and will leave the Cincinnati Bell Board.

Cincinnati Bell announced separately today that it expects to complete its spin-off of Convergys on December 31, 1998. Convergys became a public company effective with its initial public offering of approximately 10 percent of its shares on August 12, 1998. Cincinnati Bell will distribute the remaining Convergys shares one-for-one on December 31, 1998 to Cincinnati Bell shareholders of record on December 1, 1998.

Cincinnati Bell Inc. is an integrated provider of advanced local, long distance, directory, wireless, Internet, and broadband communications services and equipment to residents and businesses in the Cincinnati metropolitan area, and in selected other Midwest cities. The company's principal subsidiary is Cincinnati Bell Telephone, one of the nation's largest independent telecommunications companies with more than 1 million access lines. Cincinnati Bell Inc. is on the web at www.cinbellinc.com