"With such a tumultuous year 2002 behind us, some pundits expect 2003 to be a year of strength for the telecommunications industry. Standard & Poor's does not concur," says Todd Rosenbluth, telecommunications equity analyst and author of the survey. "Standard & Poor's anticipates there will be industrywide access line declines of at least 4%, as cable and wireless offerings further penetrate U.S. households. In addition, pricing pressure will likely continue due to increased competition, as we see telecom firms crossing each others' territories and Baby Bells entering long-distance markets. These firms will need to look outside their traditional voice services for growth," concludes Rosenbluth.

Standard & Poor's Industry Survey on Telecommunications: Wireline looks at the issues affecting the main segments of the industry. These include the effects of a changing regulatory environment, local market competition, competition from cable providers, and the growth of new technologies like digital subscriber lines and data services. In addition there is a look at key players in the wireline telecommunications industry such as AT&T (NYSE: T - News), Bellsouth (NYSE: BLS - News), and Verizon (NYSE: VZ - News).

Industry Survey on Telecommunications: Wireless is part of the Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys series, produced by its senior equity analysts, that keeps a watchful eye on 51 U.S. industries, offering insights into trends and conditions that affect leading companies' market performance. Covering more than 1,230 U.S. stocks, Standard & Poor's equity analysts have the largest U.S. equity research coverage counts among firms with no investment banking activities.

Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys provide a broad and fundamental overview of each industry's structure, its recent performance, and an analysis of trends that will influence it in the future. Each survey is organized into the following sections: Current Environment, Industry Profile/Industry Trends, How the Industry Operates, Key Industry Ratios and Statistics, How to Analyze a Company, Industry References, Comparative Company Analysis, and a Glossary of terms used in that industry. Both text and data are provided, as are references to additional sources of industry information. Two surveys on each industry are published each year.

Readers can purchase the Standard & Poor's Industry Survey on Telecommunications: Wireless three ways: online at http://sandp.ecnext.com , by telephone at 800-221-5277, or via e- mail order sent to bill_kelleher@standardandpoors.com. Members of the media can request a copy from the communications contact listed at the end of this release. To view a video clip of Standard & Poor's equity analyst Todd Rosenbluth discussing the outlook for the sector, click here rtsp://rnd31sea.activate.net/sandp/real/survey-5.rm (requires RealPlayer capability).

Standard & Poor's analytic services are performed as entirely separate activities in order to preserve the independence of each analytic process. All non-public information received during any analytic process, including credit ratings, is held in confidence. Standard & Poor's analysts do not disclose non-public information outside of their specific analytic areas.