Insight Communications and AT&T Finalize Agreement To Offer Local Telephone Service.

NEW YORK and ENGLEWOOD, Colo., July 24 /PRNewswire/ --

Insight Communications (Nasdaq: ICCI) and AT&T (NYSE: T) formally signed a previously announced agreement to deliver phone service in Insight's service areas over Insight's cable infrastructure, the companies said today.

This agreement is the first such operating agreement that AT&T has entered with a cable operator.

"This agreement underscores our commitment to offer a full suite of advanced services to our customers," said Michael S. Willner, president and CEO of Insight Communications. "With the telephony component in place, we will finally fulfill the intention of the 1996 Telecommunications Act to bring competition to all areas of communications, including the local telephone loop."

"This business model demonstrates how AT&T can further its strategy to provide customers across the country with choice for local telephone service and allows us to share the financial responsibility of providing advanced services to customers'," said Dan Somers, president and CEO of AT&T Broadband."

AT&T will install and maintain the needed switching equipment, and will be the local exchange carrier. Insight will maintain and provide access to its upgraded cable infrastructure.

The agreement calls for telephony revenue to be attributed to AT&T who, in turn, will pay Insight a monthly per line access fee for the local loop. AT&T also will pay Insight for marketing, installation and billing support for AT&T's local and long distance service.

Insight will market the co-branded AT&T local telephone service both independently and as part of a bundle of telecommunications and cable services.

AT&T and Insight will share capital expenditures. Insight will be responsible for network investments from the cable headend to the customer premise including all customer telephony equipment. AT&T will invest in the network from the connection at the headend to its telephony switching equipment.

The companies plan to market telephone service to Insight's 1.5 million customers, which are located primarily in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. The companies plan to begin offering telephone services to Louisville, Ky., customers by the first quarter of 2001.

Insight Communications Company, Inc. is the eighth largest cable operator in the United States. It became the first cable operator in 14 years to complete an initial public offering in July, 1999 when it raised $650 million. The company specializes in offering bundled, state-of-the-art technology in mid-sized communities delivering analog and digital video, high-speed data and other advanced telecommunications services to its customers.

AT&T Broadband, a business unit of AT&T, is the nation's largest broadband services company, providing analog and digital television entertainment services to about 16 million customers across the nation. The company also provides advanced services, such as high-speed cable Internet services and competitive local phone service. AT&T Corp. is the world's leader in telecommunications services and technology.