BellSouth Caps Year of Recognition with J.D. Power and Associates' Honors for Business Local Telephone Service

Business Wire, Nov 7, 2002

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 7, 2002

BellSouth Ranks Highest in Overall Customer Satisfaction,

Scores Highest in All Seven Categories

BellSouth (NYSE: BLS) today announced that it received the highest ranking for local service in J.D. Power and Associates' 2002 Major Provider Business Telecommunications Services Study(SM).

The company ranked highest in all seven of the factors, or categories, that drive overall customer satisfaction.

"BellSouth is honored by its high ranking in J.D. Power and Associates' business local services study, but we are not surprised by the results," said Fred Shaftman, president of BellSouth Business. "Partnering with companies to meet their business needs creates an optimal situation for everyone. We remain committed to providing world-class solutions to all of our customers."

The factors studied in J.D. Power and Associates' study include: performance and reliability, image, sales representatives and account executives, cost of service, billing, offerings and promotions and customer service. The study indicated that performance and reliability is the most important driver of customer satisfaction, a category in which BellSouth ranked highest in all attributes including clarity of calls, the ability to keep service outages to a minimum and promptness of restoration of service.

"We want the name BellSouth to be synonymous with great telecom service in the customer's mind," said David Scobey, president of BellSouth Small Business Services. "Being recognized two years in a row by J.D. Power and Associates for business services, along with the impressive string of other external awards earned in the last year, indicates that BellSouth is committed to providing excellent service and satisfaction. We are very proud of the J.D. Power and Associates award because the voice of our customers determined the rankings."

BellSouth has received wide recognition for its industry-leading customer satisfaction and continues to strive for daily accolades from the customers it serves. BellSouth's recent recognitions include:

-- 2002 J.D. Power and Associates Highest Customer Satisfaction with Business Local Telecommunications Services Providers.

-- 2002 J.D. Power and Associates Highest Customer Satisfaction with Business Broadband Data Service Providers.

-- 2002 J.D. Power and Associates Highest Customer Satisfaction Among High-Speed Internet Service Providers in a Tie.

-- 2002 American Customer Satisfaction Index Survey - number one ranking (ninth consecutive year).

-- 2001 J.D. Power and Associates Highest Customer Satisfaction with Local Telephone Service Providers.

-- 2001 Yankee Group's Technologically Advance Family (TAF) survey on customer service - top honors.

J.D. Power and Associates' inaugural Major Provider Business Telecommunications Services Study is based on responses from more than 3,000 U.S. businesses that evaluated their data and voice services providers. The survey was conducted with a large array of companies, from small businesses with two employees to large enterprises with over 500 employees.

About J.D. Power and Associates

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually.

About BellSouth Corporation

BellSouth Corporation is a Fortune 100 communications services company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, serving more than 44 million customers in the United States and 14 other countries.

Consistently recognized for customer satisfaction, BellSouth provides a full array of broadband data solutions to large, medium and small businesses. In the residential market, BellSouth offers DSL high-speed Internet access, advanced voice features and other services. BellSouth offers long distance service for both business and consumer customers in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. The company's BellSouth(R) Answers package combines local and long distance service with an array of calling features; wireless data, voice and e-mail services; and high-speed DSL or dial-up Internet service. BellSouth also provides online and directory advertising services through BellSouth(R) Real Pages(SM).com and The Real Yellow Pages(R).

BellSouth owns 40 percent of Cingular Wireless, the nation's second largest wireless company, which provides innovative data and voice services.