ATX Initiates Antitrust and Other Claims Against Verizon

ATX Communications, Inc. (OTCBB: COMM), a leading integrated communications provider, today filed an antitrust suit against Verizon Communications, charging Verizon with intentional anti-competitive behavior designed to maintain its monopoly over local phone service throughout its service territory.

New York, NY - September 24, 2002 - ATX Communications, Inc. (OTCBB: COMM), a leading integrated communications provider, today filed an antitrust suit against Verizon Communications, charging Verizon with intentional anti-competitive behavior designed to maintain its monopoly over local phone service throughout its service territory. The suit, filed in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, also charges Verizon with numerous breaches of contracts, as well as intentionally and improperly interfering with ATX's business relations with current and prospective ATX customers.

"Long ago, Congress and the FCC concluded that every business and consumer deserves the opportunity to choose their telecommunications service provider. The interpreting courts have since agreed, and this lawsuit is about ensuring that right is upheld," said Thomas Gravina, ATX's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Since the very first day that the local markets were opened to competition, Verizon has treated ATX and other competitive local telephone companies with disdain by blatantly and willfully disregarding the law and its obligations under contracts. This suit is intended to put an end to Verizon's intentional and calculated actions that have deprived consumers and businesses of their right to choice, and to hold Verizon financially accountable."

ATX's suit asserts that, "When local competition appeared in its markets, Verizon reacted with a determined campaign of obstruction and disruption of the new firms' operations that continues to this day. Rather than respond to the increased competition with improved services and rates in order to retain customers, Verizon instead worked to make it difficult and expensive for its new competitors to do business."

ATX further charges Verizon with maintaining a monopoly by "adopting practices that unreasonably drive up its competitors' costs of operations without improving or enhancing Verizon's own operations in any way." These monopoly practices by Verizon include routinely breaching contracts with ATX, supplying defective products and services, improperly billing for services that were not rendered, charging prices higher than those to which Verizon is entitled, and failing to fulfill its obligations per its agreements with ATX in good faith.

At the same time that it filed the antitrust suit, ATX moved to dismiss a declaratory judgment suit that Verizon had filed last month in which Verizon sought a ruling by the court that it had not violated the antitrust laws. ATX also denied Verizon's claims that ATX had breached contracts between the parties.

"This is not the first time Verizon has sought to harass and impose costs upon a competitor by filing a suit seeking a declaration that it had not violated the antitrust laws, and, in fact, Verizon's last attempt was thrown out by the same court," said Gravina. "We expect Verizon to respond with its normal rhetoric and the same old, tired verbal attacks aiming to discredit our company, but, in the end, the facts will speak for themselves."

"Since 1985, ATX has been providing quality services across many different communities and industries in which we compete," continued Gravina. "Given a level playing field, we're confident that our success can continue and grow, and we intend to ensure that competition lives beyond Verizon's monopolistic view."

About ATX
Founded in 1985, ATX is a facilities-based integrated communications provider offering local exchange carrier and inter-exchange carrier telephone, Internet, e-business, high-speed data, and wireless services to business and residential customers in targeted markets throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions of the United States. Crain's New York Business recently named ATX among the region's fastest growing companies. ATX currently serves approximately 400,000 business and residential customers. For more information on ATX, please visit www.atx.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
In addition to the historical information presented, this release also includes certain forward-looking statements concerning the future development of the business and the referenced litigation. Such statements represent the Company's reasonable judgment on the future and are based on assumptions and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. The Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in factors affecting such statements.

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