Bell Atlantic's Infospeed DSL Service Now Available in Burlington

Bell Atlantic's Infospeed DSL Service Now Available in Burlington

April 25, 2000

BURLINGTON, Vt. - Burlington-area residents and businesses have a new choice for high-speed Internet access - Bell Atlantic's Infospeed^sm DSL service, a direct connection to the Internet available today in parts of northwestern Vermont.

Infospeed DSL provides a dedicated line to the Internet. Once connected, users can stay on as long as they want -- there's no re-dialing and no busy signals. With one click of the mouse, you're there.

"Our Infospeed DSL package includes fast, unlimited access to the Internet; Bell Atlantic's own Internet service, and the ability to use the same phone line to talk or fax while you're online," Amy McIntosh, president and CEO, Bell Atlantic Network Data. "And Infospeed provides your own dedicated connection, so you don't have to worry that your access will slow down as cable modem service can because your neighbors are online using the same service."

"Bell Atlantic is investing around $48 million annually in our network in Vermont so that we can support exciting new technologies like DSL," said Louise McCarren, Bell Atlantic-Vermont president and CEO. "Residents from Shelburne to St. Albans will be delighted with this new service."

Bell Atlantic Internet Solutions is now offering Infospeed DSL throughout much of northwestern Vermont, including Burlington, East Fairfield, Enosburg Falls, Essex Junction, Grand Isle, Milton, Richford, Shelburne, St. Albans, Underhill and Winooski. It is not currently available in other parts of Vermont.

Customers can determine whether Infospeed DSL is available to them and order the service on the Bell Atlantic Web site at www.bellatlantic.com/infospeed or by calling 877-525-2375. Currently, consumers who order online get the first 30 days free. Additional information about Infospeed DSL packages for small businesses is available at www.bellatlantic.com/smallbiz or by calling 877-305-7940.

Infospeed DSL is Bell Atlantic's brand name for DSL, or Digital Subscriber Line technology, which provides Internet access at connection speeds up to 7.1 Mbps or up to 126 times faster than a traditional 56 Kbps (kilobits per second) modem, depending on the Infospeed package selected.

The connection speed is the rate at which customers connect to the DSL network and is faster than the actual speed of data transfer, also known as the throughput rate. The throughput rate varies based on a number of factors including Internet congestion, proximity to the phone company central office, modem configuration and other factors not controlled by the company.

By taking advantage of unused capacity on existing telephone lines, DSL technology allows consumers to use a single phone line to send a fax or make phone calls while simultaneously surfing the Web for news, weather or the latest stock quotes.

Infospeed Packages Offer Tremendous Value

At $49.95 a month, Bell Atlantic's entry-level Personal Infospeed package for consumers features speeds up to 640 kilobits per second (Kbps) with unlimited use. Bell Atlantic Infospeed DSL Personal Plus, the company's entry-level package for businesses, is priced at $64.95, with speeds up to 640 Kbps for unlimited use.

Consumers and business customers who want even faster connections have two other options:

• Bell Atlantic Professional Infospeed for consumers at $99.95 a month or Bell Atlantic Infospeed DSL Professional Plus for businesses at $114.95, feature speeds up to 1.6 megabits per second (Mbps).

• Bell Atlantic Power Infospeed for consumers at $189.95 or Bell Atlantic Infospeed DSL Power Plus at $204.95 a month, offer speeds up to 7.1 Mbps.

All Bell Atlantic Infospeed DSL packages for consumers include BellAtlantic.net Internet access and a link to a special version of the Snap portal service designed for Bell Atlantic's high-speed users.

In addition, Bell Atlantic Infospeed DSL Plus packages offer business customers up to six mailboxes, sized to meet business needs at 20 megabytes each, and five megabytes of Web page space.

Getting started costs customers only $99 -- the price of the DSL modem.

Quick Start Installation Kit

After a consumer places an order, Bell Atlantic will equip their line with DSL. At the same time, the company will ship them a DSL modem and a Quick Start Guide with instructions on how to complete the installation themselves. Consumers will receive everything they need to connect to the Internet using Bell Atlantic's Infospeed DSL service.

The kit includes:

• DSL modem
• 6 desk and 2 wall micro-filters
• 2-line adapter
• cable for the modem
• Bell Atlantic.netsm software
• Infospeed DSL user guide
• Quick Start installation instructions

The Quick Start installation is available to consumers who sign up for Personal or Professional Infospeed and generally no technician visit is required. A visit from a Bell Atlantic technician is required under certain circumstances for Personal Infospeed (when a customer has a home alarm monitoring service, for example), when consumers subscribe to Power Infospeed and for all businesses that subscribe to Infospeed DSL.

After installation is completed, technical support is available to all Infospeed DSL customers, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Finally, the service comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee for all charges if a customer decides not to continue service.

Infospeed DSL also is available today in parts of the New York City; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Boston; Baltimore; Wilmington, Del.; Washington, D.C.; Charleston and Huntington, W.Va.; Providence, R.I.; Richmond and Hampton Roads, Va. metropolitan areas, and in parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Massachusetts.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and information industry. With more than 44 million telephone access lines and 21 million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data services, market leaders in wireless services and the world's largest publishers of directory information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's largest investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations and investments in 23 countries.