Second Quarter Results

Bellsouth Corp
23 July 2001


Earnings Release

FINAL Approved

July 20, 2001 - 4:00 p.m.


FOR MORE INFORMATION                                    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jeff Battcher (404-713-0274)                            July 23, 2001

Pattie Kushner (404-249-2365)


                  BellSouth Reports Second Quarter Earnings

      + DSL customers increase to 381,000
      + Cingular Wireless exceeds 21.2 million total customers
      + Latin America customer base surpasses 8 million
      + Data revenues grow 25 percent

ATLANTA - With continued growth in its broadband, data and wireless
businesses, BellSouth Corporation (NYSE: BLS) reported normalized earnings per
share (EPS) of 52 cents in the second quarter of 2001, including a 5-cent
reduction related to previously disclosed foreign currency losses associated
with remeasurement of U.S. dollar denominated debt. Without that impact,
normalized EPS would have been 57 cents. Normalized EPS in the same quarter a
year ago was 56 cents.


Adjusted to include BellSouth's 40 percent share of Cingular Wireless,
revenues of $7.4 billion increased 8.9 percent compared to the second quarter
of 2000.

Data, Broadband, Internet

BellSouth's second quarter data revenues were $1.1 billion, an increase of
25.3 percent compared to the same quarter of 2000. DSL (digital subscriber
line) and other broadband and Internet services represented nearly 15 percent
of total revenues. BellSouth added 78,000 high-speed Internet access customers
in the second quarter, finishing with 381,000 DSL customers, on track toward
its year-end target of 600,000.

High-speed, high-capacity services for business customers continued to drive
BellSouth's data revenues. These offerings include branded products such as
SMARTRing(R) service, which provides a dedicated high-capacity network
connecting multiple customer locations and BellSouth central offices. To
ensure a continuous flow of data, SMARTRing automatically detects and
self-heals failures using fiber optic technology. For wholesale customers, in
June BellSouth activated the BellSouth Florida MIXSM, or Multimedia Internet
Exchange, the only optically switched major Internet 'intersection' in the
U.S.


Domestic Wireless / Cingular

BellSouth's domestic wireless revenues were $1.4 billion in the second quarter
of 2001. This was a gain of 37.5 percent compared to revenues from BellSouth's
stand-alone domestic wireless operations in the second quarter of 2000. At
June 30, Cingular had 21.2 million cellular and PCS customers, an annual
growth rate of 16.9 percent. Revenue growth in the second quarter was driven
by Cingular's nationwide footprint and demand for the company's array of data
and voice services. In June, Cingular added an innovative relocation program
for its customers who move from one part of the country to another, and
introduced a new product to the suite of mobile commerce services known as
Cingular Wireless Wallet. The new feature, called Cingular DirectBill, is the
first nationwide wireless billing service in the U.S.


Latin America Group

Consolidated Latin America revenues -- including advertising and publishing -
were $744 million in the second quarter. Cash earnings, or EBITDA, increased
34.1 percent to $244 million. BellSouth had more than 8 million customers in
Latin America at the end of the second quarter, an annual growth rate of 43.4
percent. BellSouth and its partners added 1.1 million new customers in Brazil
over the past 12 months, driven by strong operating performance. The markets
BellSouth serves in 11 Central and South American countries have significant
untapped potential, as indicated by the fact that only about five out of every
100 potential customers currently have the company's wireless service.

Worldwide Wireless Reach

Including Cingular, BellSouth now provides wireless services to 44.7 million
total customers in the U.S. and 15 other countries. On a proportionate basis,
BellSouth's wireless customers around the world numbered 19.2 million at June
30, an increase of 5.7 million, or 41.9 percent, compared to the second
quarter of 2000. Through its international operations and its domestic joint
venture, Cingular, BellSouth's wireless licenses reach a total population
globally of more than 556 million.

Impact of Growth Initiatives

As previously disclosed, the second quarter reflected the impact of
BellSouth's accelerated growth initiatives in domestic broadband and Latin
America wireless. The company's 2001 ramp-up of DSL high-speed Internet access
service reduced EPS an incremental 2 cents compared to the second quarter of
2000. BellSouth's wireless operations in Colombia, which were acquired in July
2000 and not included in the second quarter a year ago, reduced EPS 2 cents.

Special Items

Reported EPS in the second quarter of 2001 was 47 cents, reflecting the impact
of special items totaling 5 cents. These items were: a previously disclosed
accrual adjustment for prior claims from competitive local exchange carriers
(CLECs) regarding reciprocal compensation; and transition costs associated
with the previously announced restructuring of BellSouth's consumer wireless
video entertainment business.


2001 Guidance

BellSouth is reissuing its EPS guidance for the full-year due to the impact of
deteriorating economic growth and previously disclosed foreign exchange losses
associated with U.S. dollar denominated debt. The company expects normalized
EPS, adjusted for year-over-year incremental foreign exchange losses, to be in
the $2.30 to $2.35 range (5% to 7% growth). Including the effects of foreign
exchange losses, normalized EPS is expected to be in the $2.25 to $2.30 range.

Guidance for certain key financial and business metrics in 2001 remains as
follows:

Total operating revenue, including Cingular           9-11% growth

Data revenue                                          30% growth (approx.)

Capital expenditures                                  $5.5-6.0 billion

DSL high-speed Internet customers                     600,000 at 12/31/01



About BellSouth Corporation

BellSouth Corporation is a Fortune 100 communications services company
headquartered in Atlanta, GA, serving nearly 46 million customers in the
United States and 16 other countries.

Consistently recognized for customer satisfaction, BellSouth provides a full
array of broadband data and e-commerce solutions to business customers,
including Web hosting and other Internet services. In the residential market,
BellSouth offers DSL high-speed Internet access, advanced voice features and
other services. BellSouth also provides online and directory advertising
services, including BellSouth(R) Real PagesSM.com.

BellSouth owns 40 percent of Cingular Wireless, the nation's second largest
wireless company, which provides innovative wireless data and voice services.

Further information about BellSouth's second quarter earnings can be accessed
at www.bellsouth.com/investor. The press release, financial statements and
earnings commentary summarizing highlights of the quarter are available on the
BellSouth Investor Relations Web site starting today at 8 a.m. Eastern Time.

BellSouth will host a conference call with investors today at 10 a.m. Eastern
Time. Participating on the call will be BellSouth CFO Ron Dykes and Investor
Relations Vice President Nancy Humphries. Dial-in information for the
conference call is:

Domestic:           888-370-1863

International:      706-634-1735

A replay of the call will be available beginning at noon today, through 5 p.m.
July 30. The replay can be accessed by dialing:

Domestic: 800-642-1687       - Reservation number: 1325558

International: 706-645-9291  - Reservation number: 1325558

The second quarter earnings release, BLS Investor News summarizing highlights
of the quarter, and downloadable Microsoft Excel and computer viewable
financial statements are available at 8 a.m. today on our Web site,
www.bellsouth.com/investor. Today's conference call will be audiocast live on
our Web site beginning at 10 a.m., with a replay available through July 30.

In addition to historical information, this document contains forward-looking
statements regarding events and financial trends. Factors that could affect
future results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements include: (i) a change
in economic conditions in domestic or international markets where we operate
or have material investments which would affect demand for our services; (ii)
the intensity of competitive activity and its resulting impact on pricing
strategies and new product offerings; (iii) higher than anticipated cash
requirements for investments, new business initiatives and acquisitions and
(iv) those factors contained in the Company's periodic reports filed with the
SEC. The forward-looking information in this document is given as of this date
only, and BellSouth assumes no duty to update this information.