BellSouth's North Carolina History

On Dec. 20,1879, James Ormes founded Southern Bell with 1,246 customers. Now known as BellSouth, the company serves more than 1.8 million North Carolina customers. The following facts highlight BellSouth's history in North Carolina:

• BellSouth first served North Carolina customers in Raleigh and Wilmington.
• Exchanges were established in Greensboro in 1889, Winston-Salem in 1891, and Asheville in 1899.
• By 1920, Southern Bell had 491,000 phone lines.
• In 1948, the one-millionth rural phone in the Southern Bell region was installed near Burlington, N.C.
• Over the years, BellSouth sold a few local telephone exchanges.
• In 1984, as part of the breakup of the Bell System or "Ma Bell," Southern Bell became part of a new parent company called BellSouth.
• In October 1995, the company adopted the name of BellSouth for its local service operations.

North Carolina and BellSouth: Teamed up for your Business Success

From labor availability to quality of life and seemingly everything in between, North Carolina has the business resources companies need to succeed. In March 1998, North Carolina was named No. 5 in the nation for new and expanded corporation facilities during 1997. Doing business with BellSouth in North Carolina provides benefits in the following areas:

Telecommunications

BellSouth led a consortium of companies in North Carolina to develop the only statewide, broadband network in the world. This network is used today by both businesses and government entities to transmit voice, data and video at speeds and bandwidths that are not available in most of the country. Additionally, BellSouth continues to invest around $300 million in telecommunications improvements each year in North Carolina. Telecommunications benefits involve:

• North Carolina Information Highway (NCIH). The NCIH, which uses Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switching technology and Synchronous Optical Network Transmission (SONET) fiber optic communication, provides North Carolinians with one of the most advanced statewide telecommunications networks in the world.
• Digital Connections. All of BellSouth's 142 central offices in North Carolina are digital. This means that the company's 2.3 million access lines in North Carolina have digital connections. It also means that your business will have access to digital switching no matter where you relocate in BellSouth's franchised territory in North Carolina.
• Fully Redundant Network Reliability. The BellSouth interoffice network has diverse, self-healing fiber optic facilities, giving your business communications at least two ways to reach their destination. Our network is also monitored through Proactive Analysis and Repair centers that continuously check the network for unusual conditions that may indicate a future repair condition.
• Network Survivability. BellSouth's central offices are constantly monitored and have several back-up power arrangements. Our main cable routes are underground, and in many cases placed in concrete conduit. Region-wide, BellSouth maintains a pool of about 1,200 portable generators to support remote terminal sites. These generators are mobilized by the Network Reliability Centers whenever it appears our region may be hit by a severe storm.

Wireless, Internet and Publishing Services

In addition to providing landline service, BellSouth provides wireless service through BellSouth Mobility DCS; Internet access in select markets through BellSouth.net; and publishing services through BellSouth advertising and publishing.

Corporate Taxes

As one of the state's largest taxpayers, North Carolina pays ad valorem property taxes, as well as franchise fees and sales taxes. In 1996, BellSouth's North Carolina operations paid more than $72 million in state and local taxes and $135 million in Federal.

Customer Service

J. D. Powers ranked BellSouth No. 1 for customer service among local telephone companies in 1996, 1997 and 1998. The American Consumers Satisfaction Index conducted by the University of Michigan Business School and the American Society of Quality Control also ranked BellSouth as the best company in satisfaction with local telephone service in the United States for the third time in six months.

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