ATLANTA -- BellSouth (NYSE: BLS) is rolling out Native Mode LAN Interconnection (NMLI) Gigabit Ethernet Service for wholesale customers that provides more efficient interconnection of Local Area Networks (LANs) BellSouth's Gigabit Ethernet Service (GigE) also offers the increased bandwidth needed to support the convergence of Internet Protocol, video, multicast and data applications across multiple LAN environments for interstate traffic applications. BellSouth has introduced GigE service through its interstate Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Tariff #1. "Our NMLI rollout is very timely," said Elliott Bryant, senior director, BellSouth Interconnection Services. "The market has demonstrated an increasing need for additional bandwidth efficiencies. This is driven largely by the high growth of transparent LAN services, Ethernet, high speed DSL and Internet access. "With world class performance and proven predictability, BellSouth is addressing customers' current needs while preparing for tomorrow's applications." BellSouth GigE service provides the speed necessary to access large volumes of stored data, dedicated Internet access and the delivery of bandwidth intensive applications over the network. GigE is a viable solution for delivery of video and multimedia traffic given the widespread use of advanced video compression technology and Resource Reservation Protocols (RSVP). BellSouth Corp.