SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC), the nation's leading provider of DSL service, announced that a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruling issued today will allow SBC to begin providing DSL service through neighborhood broadband gateways deployed as part of the company's $6 billion Project Pronto initiative. The neighborhood broadband gateways will push the capabilities now housed in central offices closer to consumers, removing current DSL distance limitations and making virtually all consumers in SBC's metropolitan markets eligible for DSL service.

"We are pleased with the FCC ruling, which allows SBC to bring the benefits of broadband Internet service to millions of consumers who were previously outside the range of our DSL service," said Mike Turner, president, SBC broadband services. "In addition to expanding our DSL footprint, the neighborhood gateways will also enhance the quality of our network, making it easier to provide voice and data services. Unlike cable modem service, our lines are open to competitors - so our deployment won't just benefit SBC and our customers, it will benefit other DSL providers as well."

Under the FCC ruling, which grants a waiver of the merger conditions for Project Pronto assets, SBC will offer DSL service from the neighborhood gateways on a wholesale and non-discriminatory basis to competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), including Advanced Solutions Inc., SBC's data subsidiary.

SBC is already conducting market trials of the neighborhood broadband gateways with 10 data CLECs. The market trials are being held in Austin, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Kansas City, San Jose, Sacramento, Fair Oaks, Calif., Riverside, Calif., Santa Rosa, Calif., and Danbury, Conn., and are being used to test ordering, provisioning, billing and maintenance and repair processes.

SBC plans to activate approximately 4,000 neighborhood gateways by year-end, and 18,000 by the end of 2002. Combined with SBC's DSL-equipped central offices, the neighborhood gateways will enable SBC to make DSL service available to more than 80 percent of its customers by the end of 2002. Through the central office deployment already underway, about 45 percent of SBC's customers - more than 16 million homes and businesses - are currently eligible to receive SBC's DSL service.

SBC Communications Inc. (www.sbc.com) is a global communications leader. Through its subsidiaries' trusted brands - Southwestern Bell, Ameritech, Pacific Bell, SBC Telecom, Nevada Bell, SNET and Cellular One - and world-class network, SBC's subsidiaries provide local and long-distance phone service, wireless and data communications, paging, high-speed Internet access and messaging, cable and satellite television, security services and telecommunications equipment, as well as directory advertising and publishing. In the United States, the company currently has 61.2 million access lines, 12.2 million wireless customers and is undertaking a national expansion program that will bring SBC service to an additional 30 markets. Internationally, SBC has telecommunications investments in more than 20 countries. With approximately 219,000 employees, SBC is the 13th-largest employer in the U.S., with annual revenues that rank it among the largest Fortune 500 companies.