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FCC Reports Indicate Georgia Consumers Enjoy the Benefits of Market-Based Competition State slips slightly in broadband ranking ATLANTA, July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- When reaching out to family and friends, or growing their businesses, Georgia consumers today enjoy more communications choices in an extremely competitive marketplace than ever before. "The battle to win customers continues to be fierce," said Phil Jacobs, president of BellSouth's Georgia Operations. "Customers demand that their communications provider offer innovative products and packages that fit their unique needs. But, unfortunately the regulatory environment has not kept pace as communications preferences have evolved." Customers can choose traditional phone service, wireless and the emerging Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, just to name the more popular technologies. Recently-released reports from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) show that Georgia leads the nation with 42 carriers delivering service to more than 1 million traditional telephone lines, a 10 percent increase year over year. BellSouth (NYSE:BLS) provides service to approximately 3.5 million lines in the state. The FCC reports indicate that wireless subscribers surpassed traditional telephone subscribers in 2004, with more than 5.7 million wireless subscribers in the state. Traditional telephone lines numbered approximately 5 million. BellSouth estimates that approximately 10 percent of households in its region subscribe exclusively to wireless. While Georgia still enjoys a leadership position in the national broadband rankings, the new report, updated every six months, shows some cause for concern. In mid-2004 the state had been second in terms of number of broadband competitors. Despite three broadband competitors entering the market, bringing the total to 53, the state fell to third among the states by the end of 2004. Georgia's ranking amongst states in the number of broadband subscribers per capita fell two places to 15th nationally. This was despite DSL and cable modem, the two dominant forms of broadband access, holding steady in their per capita rankings. Georgia's DSL subscribers per capita held steady in second place behind only California. Cable modem providers held their 31st position in the U.S. Nationally there are more cable modem subscribers than DSL subscribers. "To maintain Georgia's leadership position in broadband, our state legislature should enact legislation to allow a competitive free market to do what it does best," noted Jacobs. "If a stable regulatory environment was created, broadband investors would bring exciting products and services to all corners of the state." To access the FCC reports, go to http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/iatd/comp.html. About BellSouth Corporation BellSouth Corporation is a Fortune 100 communications company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. BellSouth has joint control and 40 percent ownership of Cingular Wireless, the nation's largest wireless voice and data provider with more than 50 million customers. 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 Answers(R), 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.com(R) and The Real Yellow Pages(R). BellSouth believes that diversity and fostering an inclusive environment are critical in maintaining a competitive advantage in today's global marketplace. More information about BellSouth can be found at http://www.bellsouth.com/. DATASOURCE: BellSouth Corporation CONTACT: LeAnn Boucher of BellSouth Corporation, +1-404-986-1742, or Web site: http://www.bellsouth.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/095650.html

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