BellSouth Expects 12-24 Mbps for 50% of Households by 2007

BellSouth expects to be able to offer 12 to 24 Mbps residential service in 50% of households it covers by year-end 2007. In its top 30 markets, BellSouth expects to offer this level of service in 70% of homes. The company estimates the cost for the upgrade at roughly $150 per household at current levels.


Currently, BellSouth has 2.7 million DSL customers. The number of homes passed by its FTTC architecture is now 1.2 million and rising by 150,000 to 200,000 per year.


To respond to VoIP competition, BellSouth plans to roll out its own hosted VoIP service for consumers and small businesses over the next 12 to 18 months.


In IPTV, BellSouth plans to launch a market trial in summer 2006. Meanwhile, it is renewing its existing agreement with DirecTV. So far, the companies have 460,000 customers for the bundled offer.


A webcast of the company's Analyst Meeting in New York is available on the Investor Relations page of the BellSouth site.
http://www.bellsouth.com