Destia's Chief Financial Officer Departs.

PARAMUS, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 8, 1999--

Destia Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: DEST) a leader in the development of innovative telecommunications products and services, has announced that Phillip Storin has left his position as Destia's chief financial officer to return to Texas, his permanent residence of 17 years, in order to pursue new opportunities closer to home.

As previously announced, Destia has entered into a merger agreement with Viatel, Inc. (Nasdaq: VYTL) in a stock transaction that is expected to close by year-end. During the interim period, Alan L. Levy, president and chief operating officer (and its former chief financial officer), Destia Communications, Inc., and Richard L. Shorten, Jr., senior vice president, Destia Communications, Inc. will share Mr. Storin's former duties.

The merger combines Viatel's Circe network, Europe's most advanced cross-border broadband network, with Destia's retail services and extensive sales and marketing expertise to produce a company with total annualized revenues of approximately $579 million, based on second quarter 1999 revenues. The combined entity will have a significant market presence in the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and the United States and has strong prospects for market success in France, Italy, The Netherlands and Spain. The companies expect that merging their highly complementary businesses will yield numerous economic benefits and will accelerate their ability to offer a wide array of services, including IP and ATM-based broadband services, multimedia services and high-speed Internet access, to end users in Europe and North America. Destia Communications, Inc. (www.destia.com) - formerly EconoPhone - is a facilities-based provider of domestic and international telecommunications services in North America and nine countries in Europe. Destia provides its end-users with a variety of retail telecommunications services, including international and domestic long distance, calling card and prepaid card services, carrier wholesale transmission services and Internet access.

Certain statements herein are "forward-looking statements" (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements are based upon the belief of Destia's management, as well as assumptions made beyond information currently available to Destia's management. Because such "forward-looking statements" are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such "forward-looking statements". Factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such "forward-looking statements" include, but are not limited to, highly competitive market conditions; general economic conditions; the rate of expansion of Destia's network and/or customer base; inaccuracies in Destia's forecasts of telecommunications traffic or customers; changes in the availability of transmission facilities; customer retention and credit risk; changes in or developments under laws, regulations, licensing requirements or telecommunications standards; currency fluctuations; changes in retail or wholesale telecommunications rates; changes in international settlement rates; the loss of the services of certain members of Destia's senior management and other factors discussed in filings made by Destia with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The foregoing review of important factors should not be construed as exhaustive; Destia undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of any future revisions it may make to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, including the occurrence of unanticipated events.