Speakeasy first to offer new nationwide dedicated-loop DSL.(New Networks/Services)

Speakeasy (http://www.speakeasy.net) announced that it is the first company to offer new nationwide dedicated-loop ADSL (also known as "dry DSL") to consumers and businesses. Working with Covad Communications Group Inc., the company launched the product to address consumers and businesses that need ADSL connectivity but do not want to install a local telephone line. Examples of customers who have asked for this service include:

--People who use a cell phone as their primary home phone;

--Residential customers who have chosen a competitive local voice provider (e.g. MCI or AT&T) and want to choose their data provider;

--Home workers who need a high-quality, dedicated connection;

--Small businesses looking for a cost-effective, dedicated data communications connection with individualized support.

Speakeasy and Covad are at the national forefront of this new product category, which when combined with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), creates a unique competitive alternative to the local incumbent telephone company. The product will be marketed by Speakeasy as "OneLink," and will be offered nationwide as part of Speakeasy's line of high-performance broadband packages. Speakeasy is the only provider currently offering this type of service to subscribers on a national basis.

The introductory price for "OneLink" is as low as $55.95 per month for a 1.5/256 high-speed connection, which is extremely competitive when compared with a broadband-plus-phone-line cost that averages about $65 to $80 for similar speeds in many regions. New customers can also benefit from a professional onsite installation of the line that will connect customers to one of the nation's most reliable and highest-quality data networks.

"We hear from many consumers and businesses that they are tired of being tied to the phone company and are seeking superior service and new creative options from the broadband industry," said Speakeasy President and CEO Bruce Chatterley. "In fact, in a recent customer survey we learned that more than 30 percent of our existing customers use a cell phone as their primary voice line. These customers have a telephone line solely to get DSL service from Speakeasy. We have listened to these customers and are very excited to be the first national provider of this new product. Speakeasy OneLink is the right service at the right time for those subscribers seeking to sever ties with the phone company, save money and create a greatly simplified broadband experience."

Prior to the OneLink dedicated-loop ADSL product, consumers were required to have the added expense of a local telephone line in order to receive DSL capabilities at their locations. With Speakeasy OneLink, the local phone charge is eliminated. Additionally, businesses can now change voice providers without suffering Internet downtime and also have the ability to competitively bid their voice phone business, without "tying" it to their broadband services.

Speakeasy will be building on the OneLink product announcement with the scheduled upcoming launch of its first-ever voice service. Based upon Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), this service, when combined with OneLink, will allow subscribers to save money and to completely sever their relationships with the phone company for both voice and data communications. More details on this new voice service, including pricing and features, will be available in August.

Forrester Research estimates that by 2006, approximately 2.3 million U.S. households will replace regular phones with wireless ones. On a related note, nearly 50 percent of participants in an Ipsos-Insight survey (January 2004) expect communications to move to the Internet in the next two years.

For further information, visit http://www.speakeasy.net/onelink