RNS Number:1787Y
Bellsouth Corp
29 April 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT:
Joe Chandler
BellSouth
404-829-8700
joe.chandler@bellsouth.com


BellSouth Signs Contracts for Long-Term Commercial Agreements With Three
Wholesale Carriers

                    -- Company Rejects AT&T Proposal --

ATLANTA - April 29, 2004 - BellSouth (NYSE: BLS) today announced the signing of
long-term commercial agreements with three carriers including Dialogica
Communications Inc., International Telnet and CI2 for the provisioning of
wholesale local phone services throughout the nine-state BellSouth region in the
Southeast.

"In March, BellSouth offered its wholesale customers an opportunity for a fair,
long-term commercial agreement at definitive rates for access to the BellSouth
network. BellSouth's offer eliminates continued legal and regulatory uncertainty
for our customers. These three agreements, along with our ongoing discussions
with other CLECs, will move us forward to a new era in which wholesale local
voice services will be provided through commercial agreements," said Keith
Cowan, President of BellSouth Interconnection Services.

Since the FCC's call for the negotiation of commercial agreements, BellSouth has
executed nondisclosure agreements with over 60 telecommunications carriers.
These non-disclosure agreements set the framework for ongoing, private
negotiations of commercial terms.

BellSouth also recently announced a commercial offering for UNE transport
transition. Until June 15, 2004, BellSouth is offering a plan to provide an
efficient transition from UNE transport and high capacity loops to transport
offered via BellSouth's tariffs.

The company also commented on AT&T's public proposal to incumbent local exchange
carriers in response to the March 10, 2004 call from the FCC Commissioners
encouraging commercial negotiations. After six weeks of sitting on the
sidelines, AT&T has made a desperate attempt to perpetuate the regulatory scheme
that was vacated by the D.C. Circuit Court on March 2, 2004. Once again, AT&T is
trying to perpetuate government controls of a marketplace that has become
intensively competitive and should be controlled by the consumer.

About BellSouth Corporation

BellSouth Corporation is a Fortune 100 communications company headquartered in
Atlanta, Georgia and a parent company of Cingular Wireless, the nation's second
largest wireless voice and data provider.

Backed by award winning customer service, BellSouth offers the most
comprehensive and innovative package of voice and data services available in the
market. Through BellSouth AnswersSM, residential and small business customers
can bundle their local and long distance service with dial up and high speed DSL
Internet access, satellite television and Cingular(R) Wireless service. For
businesses, BellSouth provides secure, reliable local and long distance voice
and data networking solutions. BellSouth also offers online and directory
advertising through BellSouth(R) RealPages.comsm and The Real Yellow Pages(R).

More information about BellSouth can be found at www.bellsouth.com.


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