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Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 8, 2000

e.spire(TM) Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESPI), the communications company for the networked economy, today announced that its Web hosting subsidiary, ValueWeb(TM), has expanded its hosting options to include dedicated server and colocation services.

The ValueWeb dedicated server offering benefits small- to medium-sized business customers whose Web sites require more security, functionality, and/or capacity than shared servers can reliably handle. These customers can now lease their own ValueWeb servers, which are set up and maintained 24x7 by ValueWeb. Colocation is a service ValueWeb provides for other communications companies that want to store their servers in a secure, strategically located data center with a reliable, high-bandwidth connection to the Internet. By using ValueWeb colocation services, these companies improve their networking performance and avoid having to build their own data centers.

"ValueWeb has already distinguished itself as a leading shared hosting provider, proved by its ranking, since late 1998, among the top-10 largest hosting providers in the world," said Tomas V. Mikaelsson, ValueWeb President and Chief Operating Officer. "By introducing higher-end solutions, including dedicated server, colocation and related services, we show our commitment to delivering services that meet our customers' growing requirements."

With the new services, ValueWeb can now host sites in various categories. ValueWeb offers a range of shared hosting plans at prices beginning at $19.95 per month for basic hosting and $49.95 per month for hosting with e-commerce capabilities. The dedicated server plans are priced competitively from $295 per month, and colocation services are available from $395 per month, plus bandwidth usage.

"ValueWeb, an important e.spire asset, along with our Internet access provider CyberGate, contributed more than 10% of e.spire's revenues in 1999 by providing basic Internet services, including basic hosting and e-commerce," said George F. Schmitt, e.spire Chairman and Acting Chief Executive Officer. "With an expanded ValueWeb portfolio, we hope to realize improved margins and financial results that will increase our Internet subsidiaries' contribution to our bottom line."

ValueWeb completed its move to an ultra-modern facility in Ft. Lauderdale, FL in January 2000. The facility, designed specifically to house a leading edge hosting provider, has a state-of-the-art data center, equipped to support shared, dedicated and colocation services. The data center provides security, power system and backup, disaster prevention and high-speed and reliable network connections comparable to the best and most competitively priced services. ValueWeb began offering dedicated server and colocation services in late March and already has more than 60 customers.

"Our dedicated server and colocation solutions provide businesses with the scalability they need, while keeping their IT capital expenses to a minimum," added Mikaelsson.

ValueWeb offers a comprehensive line of shared, dedicated and colocation Web hosting solutions. Featuring state-of-the-art facility and network infrastructure, e-commerce and Web design applications, ValueWeb provides businesses turnkey resources for enhancing their Web sites' effectiveness in the marketplace. Now hosting more than 65,000 Web sites for customers in more than 136 countries, ValueWeb is one of the largest hosting companies in the world.

ValueWeb is an IBM (NYSE:IBM) ISP Partner, a Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) FrontPage Web Presence Provider and Network Solutions (NASDAQ: NSOL) Alliance Partner.

For more information about ValueWeb dedicated servers and colocation services, including interactive demonstrations of network architecture, is available at the ValueWeb Web site, www.valueweb.com.

e.spire Communications, Inc. is a leading integrated communications provider, offering traditional local and long distance, dedicated Internet access and advanced data solutions, such as ATM and frame relay. e.spire also provides dial-up Internet through its wholly-owned Internet service provider (ISP), CyberGate, Inc., and Web-hosting services through CyberGate's subsidiary ValueWeb. In addition, e.spire's subsidiary, ACSI Network Technologies, Inc., provides third parties, including other communications concerns, municipalities and corporations, with turnkey fiber-optic design, construction and project management expertise. More information about e.spire is available at the e.spire Web site, www.espire.net.

Certain statements regarding the development of the Company's businesses, the markets for the Company's services and products, the Company's anticipated capital expenditures, anticipated EBITDA and other statements are forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) which can be identified as any statement that does not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements use such words as plans, expects, will, will likely result, are expected to, will continue, is anticipated, estimate, project, believes, anticipates, intends and expects, may, should, continue, seek, could and other similar expressions. Although the Company believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. The important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements herein (the "Cautionary Statements") include, without limitation, the Company's degree of financial leverage, risks associated with debt service requirements and interest rate fluctuations, risks associated with acquisitions and the integration thereof, the impact of restriction under the Company's financial instruments, dependence on availability of transmission facilities, regulation risks including the impact of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, contingent liabilities, the impact of competitive services and pricing, the ability of the Company to successfully implement its strategies, as well as the other risks referenced from time to time in the Company's filings with the SEC, including the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the Cautionary Statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.