MEDIA RESOURCE AVAILABLE: Nationwide CLEC Available for Comment Prior to Triennial Review Rescheduled for February 20

Z-Tel urges FCC to support a competitive marketplace and allow consumers affordable, enhanced, and widespread service offerings not currently available from Bell companies

WHO: Z-Tel Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZTEL) is a nationwide provider of local, long distance and enhanced telecommunications services to consumers in 46 states, made possible by UNE-P.

WHAT: Media interested in the CLEC perspective on the expected outcome of the Triennial Review and the resulting impact on telecom consumers are welcome to contact Z-Tel for comment.

WHY: This nationwide CLEC has fully leveraged the business and consumer benefits for which the 1996 Telecommunications Act was intended. Having signed two substantial wholesale agreements in less than one year (MCI and Sprint) and recently launching its Personal Voice Assistant (PVA) consumer offering, Z-Tel is testimony to the success of the Act, as well as the industrys loss should the FCC rule in favor of the Bells urging to block UNE-P access to competitive carriers.

SPEAKING POINTS: As the Triennial Review approaches and the state of the telecom arena is threatened, Z-Tel speaks as a competitive local exchange carrier and asks that the FCC remember:

•   According to the UNE-P Fact Report published in January 2003 by the PACE Coalition, more than 10 million residential and small business lines (1.2 million of which are in rural communities) are being served by UNE-P. If an FCC decision forces Bell competitors to exit the market, those customers will be deprived of lower prices, more responsive rate plans and better, more innovative services.
•   The Telecommunications Act of 1996 (the Act") specifies that the Bells allow competitor access to their core UNEs. The FCC does not have the authority to alter this requirement. This is a Congressional statute that FCC Chairman Michael Powell wants to disembowel; surely affecting consumers nationwide. The authority of telecom regulations needs to remain at the state level as it has successfully operated for more than 100 years.
•   The Bell companies were guaranteed a rate of return on their investment in the public phone network before they added a single customer. Consumers in every state have paid for and built the Bell networks. Shouldn't states and consumers be allowed to have a voice in how that network is used to deliver their service? The inhibition of UNE-P would ensure that the Bells remain a monopoly.
•   According to a recent study by CompTel consumers could save more than $9 billion per year on their phone bills if local phone service competition was allowed to flourish nationwide.

About Z-Tel

Z-Tel was founded in the wake of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. With the establishment of the Unbundled Network Element-Platform (UNE-P), competitive telecommunications companies became able to provide telephone service to end-users over the incumbent local telephone providers network. Z-Tel was formed around UNE-P with the vision of developing technology that would imbue the telephone with Intelligent Dial Tone," wherein telephone service can be personalized to meet consumers and businesses diverse communications needs in an intelligent, intuitive way. Z-Tel offers residential and business customers in 46 states value-added bundled local and long distance phone service with proprietary Internet-accessible calling and messaging features. Z-Tel also makes these services available on a wholesale basis. For more information about Z-Tels innovative services or about Z-Tel, please visit the Companys Web site at www.ztel.com.