Subject: [NEXTEL-1] SMOLTZ SIGNS ON AS SOUTHERN LINC SPOKESMAN

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2003 17:23:40 -0500

Southern LINC - Press Releases

Media Contacts:

Edelman
John Moore, 404-262-3000 or 678-232-0270

Southern LINC
Gretchen Crawford, 678-443-1525 or 888-429-0990

SMOLTZ SIGNS ON AS SOUTHERN LINC SPOKESMAN

ATLANTA (February 10, 2003) - Southern LINC®, the wireless
communications service from Southern Company (NYSE: SO),
announced today that Major League All-Star Pitcher, Rolaids
Relief Award winner and Cy Young Award winner John Smoltz will
be its spokesman.

Smoltz will appear in a series of television, radio and print ads
around the Southeast, including Georgia, Florida, Alabama and
Mississippi. The ad campaign starts today and will continue
throughout the year. Smoltz also made an appearance at
Southern LINC's annual sales meeting this month.

"John's reputation as an exceptional athlete and a truly reliable
pitcher not only makes him an asset to his team, but also makes
him the perfect choice to represent our company," said Bob
Dawson, president and CEO, Southern LINC. "Like John,
Southern LINC prides itself on reliability."

As spokesman, Smoltz will be provided with two Motorola i95cl
handsets, the top-of-the-line data capable, digital flip handset
with a color screen display. Smoltz is using his handset to
communicate via Instant LINC two-way radio, phone and e-mail.

"I'm glad to be partnered with Southern LINC, a local company
with a solid reputation for offering reliable service," Smoltz said.
"The Instant LINC two-way radio feature is an ideal way to
communicate. I'm having fun using it."

Smoltz has been an Atlanta pitcher since 1987, going to the post
season eight times, the All-Star game four times and winning the
Cy Young award in 1996. He also holds his league's record for
the most game saves per season. By the end of the 1990's
Smoltz had more post-season wins than any pitcher in baseball
history. Smoltz has recently won the Rolaids Relief Award, the
Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award, the Atlanta Braves Roberto
Clemente Community Service Award and the National League
Comeback Player of the Year Award.

About Southern LINC

Southern LINC, which stands for Long-range Integrated Network
Communications, covers 127,000 square miles in the Southeast,
including major metro and rural areas in Alabama, Georgia,
southeastern Mississippi and northwest Florida. Using
Motorola's iDEN® technology, Southern LINC combines multiple
communication services into one handset or installed device
including Instant LINC two-way radio, phone service, numeric
and text paging, wireless Internet and wireless data access and
Java™ 2 Micro Edition (J2ME™) applications. Southern LINC is
also recognized by Motorola as the most reliable iDEN network in
the world. More information about Southern LINC can be
obtained by calling 1-800-818-LINC (5462) or visiting the
Southern LINC Web site at www.Southern LINC.com.

Southern Company

With 4 million customers and nearly 37,000 megawatts of
generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE:
SO) is the premier super-regional energy company in the
Southeast and a leading U.S. producer of electricity. Southern
Company owns electric utilities in four states, a fast-growing
competitive generation company, an energy services business
and a competitive retail natural gas business, as well as fiber
optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands
are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and
retail electric prices that are 15 percent below the national
average. Southern Company has been named No. 1 on Fortune
magazine’s 2002 “America’s Most Admired Companies” list in
the Electric and Gas Utility industry. Southern Company has more
than 500,000 shareholders, making its common stock one of the
most widely held in the United States.

Southern LINC and Instant LINC are salesmarks or registered
trademarks of Southern LINC. Motorola and iDEN are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.

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