BellSouth Supplier Diversity

Bellsouth Corp
25 June 2004


For more information
LeAnn Hansen
404-249-2839

                         BellSouth recognizes milestone
               in meeting SUPERCOMM Supplier Diversity Challenge
        Commitment to supplier diversity, and to communities, long term

For Immediate Release:
June 25, 2004


Atlanta - BellSouth Corporation (NYSE: BLS), one of the original signatories of
the SUPERCOMM Supplier Diversity Challenge issued in 1998, is pleased to
announce that the company has met the five-year Challenge. While recognizing
this milestone, BellSouth will continue to increase the amount of business it
does with diversity suppliers.

The 1998 SUPERCOMM Supplier Diversity Challenge set a goal, urging participating
companies within the telecommunications industry to spend at least 10 percent of
their procurement dollars with diversity suppliers by 2003.

"I am extremely pleased that BellSouth took a leadership role in accepting the
Supplier Diversity Challenge," said BellSouth Chairman and CEO Duane Ackerman.

"While we celebrate this milestone, I look forward to working with our current
and potential suppliers, to increase that percentage until it better reflects
the diverse communities we serve," Ackerman said.  "Our commitment to supplier
diversity, and to our communities, is long term."

Since 1999, BellSouth has spent over $2.5 billion with diverse suppliers. In
just the past three years, the share of its procurement budget won by diversity
suppliers has increased 57 percent. Diversity suppliers add value throughout
BellSouth's business, providing everything from call center services to
temporary staffing, from printing to network equipment, from construction to
courier services, from advertising to transportation and logistics, from legal
services to software development.

For more information on Supplier Diversity at BellSouth, or to submit a company
profile, please visit www.bellsouth.com/suppliers.


About BellSouth Corporation

BellSouth Corporation is a Fortune 100 communications company headquartered in
Atlanta, Georgia and a parent company of Cingular Wireless, the nation's second
largest wireless voice and data provider.

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 AnswersSM, 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.comsm and The Real Yellow Pages(R).

More information about BellSouth can be found at www.bellsouth.com.


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange