Dykes Announces Retirement

Bellsouth Corp
27 September 2005



For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Battcher
404- 249-2793



                           Dykes Announces Retirement
                      Shannon Named Chief Financial Officer



BellSouth's Chief Financial Officer, Ron Dykes, announced today that he will
retire at the end of this year, concluding a career at the communications
company that has spanned 34 years.



After completing his service with the U.S. Army as an officer in the Signal
Corps, Dykes joined Southern Bell, where he held a series of positions of
increasing responsibility in network operations and network planning and
engineering. He was elected a corporate officer in 1988 when he became vice
president of finance for BellSouth Enterprises. He was named chief financial
officer of BellSouth Corporation in 1995.



"Ron's unique combination of operations experience and financial acumen gave him
insight and expertise that were key to BellSouth's financial strength," said
Duane Ackerman, chairman and chief executive officer. "If you were going to
define the quintessential CFO, it would be Ron Dykes."



Among his many contributions, Dykes played a major role in the formation of
Cingular Wireless, the nation's largest wireless company. He is chairman of
Cingular's board of directors.



He has also been active in the Atlanta community, serving on the board of
trustees of St. Joseph's Health System.



Dykes, 58, earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Auburn
University and an MBA in management from Emory University. He also earned an MS
in management from Stanford University, where he was a Sloan Fellow.



His honors include induction into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame. He is
also a member of the Auburn University Electrical Engineering Industrial
Advisory Board.



Well respected in the financial community, Dykes created a top-flight finance
organization which has successfully navigated the changing world of telecom.





Pat Shannon will succeed Dykes as BellSouth's chief financial officer. Shannon,
42, began his career at Bellsouth in 1997 as vice president-finance and
controller. Most recently he has served as senior vice president of finance.
Shannon, a certified public accountant, earned his Bachelor of Science degree in
business administration from the University of Georgia.



"We are fortunate to have someone with Pat's qualifications ready to step into
this role," Ackerman said. "He has had an active role in all of BellSouth's
major activities over the last few years."

About BellSouth Corporation

BellSouth Corporation is a Fortune 100 communications company headquartered in
Atlanta, Georgia. BellSouth has joint control and 40 percent ownership of
Cingular Wireless, the nation's largest wireless voice and data provider with
51.6 million customers.

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 Answers(R), 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.com(R) and The Real Yellow Pages(R).

BellSouth believes that diversity and fostering an inclusive environment are
critical in maintaining a competitive advantage in today's global marketplace.
More information about BellSouth can be found at http://www.bellsouth.com.

NOTE: For more information about BellSouth, visit the BellSouth Web page at
http://www.bellsouth.com.







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