Cox Communications and Irvine Apartment Communities Form Alliance to Provide Bundled Video, Telephone and High-Speed Internet Access; Apartment REIT's 25,000 O.C. Residents Among First in Nation to Receive All-in-One Telecommunications Package.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 1997--Cox Communications (NYSE:COX) today announced the company has formed a multi-year alliance with apartment owner and developer Irvine Apartment Communities (NYSE:IAC) to offer video, voice and data services to all of IAC's current and future Orange County properties under the service brand name "Cox Connex."

The innovative "all-in-one" telecommunications service offering -- the largest of its kind in the cable industry to date -- will provide IAC's 25,000 apartment residents in the County with cable programming choices, local and long distance Cox digital telephone, and high-speed Internet access, all in a single, bundled package.

Cox Connex will debut this fall at IAC's recently opened luxury property, The Colony at Fashion Island, located in Newport Beach, and will become a regular service option at all newly developed IAC properties in Orange County. The service will also roll out to IAC's 52 existing O.C. apartment communities over the next two years.

"The 'Community of the Future' is here," stated Leo W. Brennan, Vice President and General Manager of Cox Communications, Orange County.

"With Cox Connex, IAC's apartment community residents will have access to state-of-the-art telecommunications and Internet access services with the convenience, choice and value of 'one stop' shopping," he said.

"We are constantly seeking ways at IAC to enhance the quality of life at our apartment communities," said William H. McFarland, IAC's President and Chief Executive Officer.

"With this new alliance, we're bringing our communities into the 21st Century, offering our residents access to the most advanced telecommunications services available on the market today," he said.

Cox Communications will deliver its Cox Connex services to pre-wired residences via its broadband fiber optic network which it began installing throughout its Orange County service area in 1990. The company's two-story, 17,000-square-foot Master Telecommunications Center will house the computer systems and telecommunications equipment necessary to provide video, voice and data services.

Irvine Apartment Communities, a publicly traded real estate investment trust, is the dominant owner and operator of apartment properties on Orange County's Irvine Ranch, the nation's largest master-planned community.

The company also recently initiated an expansion program into other high-growth markets of California, focusing on northern California's Silicon Valley and northern San Diego County.

At June 30, 1997, IAC owned 55 apartment communities representing 14,991 completed rental units with 1,110 units under construction. More information about Irvine Apartment Communities can be found on the Internet at www.iac-apts.com .

Cox Communications Inc., is among the nation's largest broadband communications companies serving over 3.3 million customers with wired telecommunications, (including cable television, high-speed Internet access via its Cox@Home service, and telephone services); wireless telecommunications (including personal communications services via Sprint PCS, and direct-to-home satellite television via Primestar).

Cox also has interests in several programming networks, including The Discovery Channel. Recently, in the first such survey of the cable industry, Cox was distinguished for achieving the highest overall rating among television users by J.D. Power and Associates, an independent market research firm. Cox serves over 212,000 customers in Orange County. More information on Cox Communications can be found on the Internet at www.cox.com .

CONTACT: Cox Communications

Carol Starcevic

Manager, Public Affairs

714/240-8828, ext. 524

or

Irvine Apartment Communities

Rick Lamprecht

Irvine Ranch Division President

714/720-5565