Press Release

NEW YORK, Oct 28, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Con Edison Communications (CEC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED), today announced that it will provide network services for the Royal Bank of Scotland. The Royal Bank of Scotland chose CEC to engineer and implement diverse network routes to its disaster recovery facility and its worldwide WAN.

The Royal Bank of Scotland provides financing, risk management and investment solutions to companies and institutions throughout the world. The merger of the Royal Bank and NatWest in March 2000 brought together some of the smartest minds in the financial markets while creating a global presence in foreign exchange including emerging markets, currency options and interest rate derivatives. As the Royal Bank of Scotland expanded operations in New York City and North America, it grew increasingly dependent on its public and private network infrastructure to protect critical data, share information between North America and Europe, and communicate with remote locations over the WAN. In response to the events of September 11th, the bank recognized that it needed additional network diversity to protect its business information and network assets in the event of a disaster.

After evaluating several carrier proposals, the Royal Bank of Scotland selected Con Edison Communication to engineer a diverse network and provide it with managed metropolitan Ethernet services. The bank selected CEC for three primary reasons:

• Unique network diversity. To provide the highest level of network diversity, CEC designed a network that includes dual building entrances. In addition, CEC runs most of its fiber routes through conduits in the electric utility rights-of-way while all other carriers run their networks through Empire City Subway (ECS) conduits. The bank determined that CEC's unique network and route diversity would provide a higher level of protection than other carriers.
• A complete ring-based architecture anchored by the latest technology. CEC's 100 percent fiber, DWDM-based network consists of self-healing rings that span the entire network edge and core. This ring architecture provides the Royal Bank of Scotland with the highest possible reliability and plenty of capacity to meet future bandwidth requirements.
• Superior customer care. CEC took the time to understand the Royal Bank of Scotland requirements, work with its IT staff, and design a network to meet immediate and future needs. The bank appreciated this `hands-on' treatment.

"Con Edison Communications was the only carrier that presented a truly diverse solution," said Michael Nelkens, vice president and manager of technology infrastructure at the Royal Bank of Scotland. "Backup is inherent in the CEC design. We can withstand physical damage to an entire street surrounding our building and remain up and running. I also appreciate CEC's `can-do approach.' CEC listened to me and was willing to do whatever it took to satisfy my needs. This type of customer care is very refreshing in the telecommunications industry."

CEC engineers recently completed the first phase of the project by connecting the Royal Bank of Scotland's data center and disaster recovery facility into the CEC network core. In phase 2 of the project, the bank will link the CEC infrastructure to its WAN backbone to increase network availability.

"I am very pleased that CEC's network design and route diversity is attractive to customers like the Royal Bank of Scotland," stated Peter Rust, president and CEO of Con Edison Communications. "Our technology is second-to-none, but I am especially delighted that the bank appreciated our corporate attitude. This is a testament to our people and our common goal to be the `smart alternative' for telecommunications services in New York."

About Con Edison Communications

Con Edison Communications (CEC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. CEC offers a comprehensive range of transport products and services designed to enhance the performance of its customers' networks. CEC builds and operates its own fiber optic network providing managed data transport services and custom network solutions to multiple classes of customers, including local and long-distance carriers, Fortune 1000 corporations, and Internet, cable, wireless and video companies. CEC's NYC metro area network currently interconnects over 80 commercial buildings, all of the major POPs and many of the Verizon Central Offices in New York City. CEC's extensive network enables it to light off-net buildings needing service faster than other providers. Additional information about CEC is available at http://www.electricfiber.com/.

About Consolidated Edison, Inc.

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) is one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $10 billion in annual revenues and $17 billion in assets. The company provides a wide range of energy-related products and services to its customers through two regulated utility subsidiaries and four competitive energy and telecommunications businesses. For additional financial, operations and customer service information, visit the Consolidated Edison, Inc. web site at http://www.conedison.com/.

CONTACT: Con Edison Communications Russell Kohn, 212/324-5080 PR@electricfiber.com or Weber Shandwick Worldwide Adam Cormier, 617/875-6388 acormier@webershandwick.com