BellSouth Expands LD Services

ATLANTA -- BellSouth (NYSE: BLS - News) today announced that it has increased its service offerings to long distance business customers with three new products. The expanded portfolio allows customers to effectively manage their data and voice communication needs through a single vendor while realizing substantial cost-savings. The new services, BellSouth® Long Distance Voice Virtual Private Network (VPN), BellSouth® Long Distance Calling Card for businesses, and BellSouth® Conferencing Services are available today, backed by BellSouth's secure and reliable network and a history of excellent customer service.

"BellSouth continues to expand our breadth of services and solutions to help our customers stay competitive in today's marketplace," said Chris Anderson, vice president of BellSouth Long Distance Services. "These new solutions will help customers reduce and manage costs, improve inter-office dialing efficiencies and quickly adapt to growth or changing communication needs. Additionally, customers have the opportunity to source all of their data and voice communications from one company."

The first of BellSouth's new offerings, BellSouth Long Distance Voice VPN is a virtual private network application that provides businesses with reduced costs, call control and abbreviated dialing between disparate offices. The VPN architecture allows long distance calls to be carried solely by the Inter-Exchange Carrier (IXC), eliminating additional access charges and reducing per minute costs. The VPN platform also provides businesses with a series of call accounting features to control usage and reduce fraud across all customer locations. Also, BellSouth Long Distance Voice VPN adds the convenience of abbreviated long distance dialing between inter-office customer locations.

Recognizing the need to provide customers with an effective, efficient alternative to face-to-face meetings, BellSouth has introduced BellSouth Conferencing Services aimed at improving productivity, enhancing decision- making, supporting collaboration and enhancing employee retention. The suite seamlessly integrates audio and Web conferencing tools of both traditional and cutting-edge conferencing technologies. The on-demand, flexible and easy-to-use audio product coupled with a Web-based companion enables customers to save on the financial and time constraints associated with travel. Customers can collaboratively work with others, sharing information face to face for quick-decision making.

Offering businesses a convenient alternative to managing the costs of long distance calling, the BellSouth Long Distance Calling Card for businesses is a long distance travel service that allows users to place calls from virtually any phone in the U.S. and any country providing International Direct Distance Dialing (IDDD). The BellSouth Long Distance Calling Card offers customers the ability to manage long distance calling fees through a single-vendor, supporting all of a customer's voice communication needs on a global basis. The service employs a number of features including operator assistance, speed dialing, call reorigination and private labeled calling cards with corporate logos.

In 2002, BellSouth became the first regional Bell operating company to offer long distance in its entire territory, providing solutions for large and small businesses from day one. By teaming with another service provider, BellSouth Long Distance Services already has five years of experience in helping businesses meet their long distance needs. Its services enable business customers to capitalize on the simplicity, convenience and cost- effectiveness of consolidating all of their communications needs with one provider.

BellSouth delivers the quality and service levels imperative to making customers successful. For large business customers, the BellSouth Customer Resource Center (CRC) handles provisioning, service assurance and customer care to ensure the ordering, installation and repair processes are seamless.

For businesses with advanced data or voice communication needs, BellSouth's suite of solutions includes BellSouth® Dial Direct service, BellSouth® Toll-Free service, BellSouth® Long Distance Private Line service, BellSouth® Long Distance Frame Relay service and BellSouth® Long Distance ATM service, as well as three new services: BellSouth® Long Distance Voice Virtual Private Network (VPN), BellSouth® Long Distance Calling Card for businesses, and BellSouth® Conferencing Services. Businesses can also select calling options that suit their domestic and international communications needs and all long distance services, with the exception of Conferencing Services, are provided on one bill.

BellSouth Corp.