e.spire Subsidiary ACSI Network Technologies Passes $100 Million Milestone; Subsidiary Has Leveraged Infrastructure Expertise To Win Significant Customers.

ANNAPOLIS JUNCTION, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 4, 1999--

e.spire Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:ESPI) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, ACSI Network Technologies, Inc. (ACSI NT), which provides turnkey telecommunications network development solutions to major carriers and other businesses, has won contracts valued at more than $100 million since it was incorporated last year.

ACSI NT was established in 1998 to capitalize on e.spire's expertise in deploying its own advanced competitive local telecom infrastructure.

Since that time, ACSI NT has marketed its network construction and turnkey consulting services to other companies seeking to deploy state-of-the-art fiber-optic networks that support high-speed, broadband voice and data transmission, and leveraged excess capacity on e.spire's infrastructure. In record time, the subsidiary has attracted more than $100 million in new business.

To reach this milestone, ACSI NT successfully negotiated a variety of contracts to provide services for carriers, corporations and municipalities across the United States.

The significant and diverse contract work includes a multi-million-dollar contract to build a 27-mile fiber network for the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School Districts in Texas and an extensive project in Houston that will provide a cost-effective network solution for multiple carriers in that market.

Contracts have been signed to provide networks in Houston and various other markets for major local and long distance carriers. In addition, ACSI NT also began pursuing new customers in Europe and Latin America. It recently won a contract to provide consulting services on a large project for Pegasus Telecom, a long distance carrier, headquartered in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

"In aggregate, these agreements and others under negotiation highlight e.spire's diverse communications capabilities, especially our ability to consistently deliver superior and reliable network construction and related services to major customers that require speed to market and state-of-the-art network performance," said Anthony J. Pompliano, e.spire Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "These customers' confidence in the quality of ACSI NT's work raises our expectations for an even greater demand for these services--both in the United States and abroad--in the future."

ACSI Network Technologies, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of e.spire that provides full-service network development solutions, including business planning, market analysis, engineering, project management, construction and network monitoring center design.

For more information on ACSI NT, contact http://www.acsint.net.

e.spire Communications, Inc. is a leading provider of integrated communications solutions, including dedicated access, local dial tone, long distance, advance data, Internet and networking solutions, in markets throughout the United States. For more information on e.spire, contact http://www.espire.net.