Exhibit 31a

     I, F. Duane Ackerman, certify that

     1.  I have reviewed this report on Form 10-Q of BellSouth Corporation;

     2.  Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
         statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
         to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which
         such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period
         covered by this report;

     3.  Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
         information included in this report, fairly present in all material
         respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
         of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

     4.  The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for
         establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
         defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the
         registrant and have:

         a)     Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
                disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
                supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
                registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made
                known to us by others within those entities, particularly during
                the period in which this report is being prepared;

         c)     Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
                controls and procedures and presented in this report our
                conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls
                and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this
                report based on such evaluation; and

         d)     Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
                control over financial reporting that occurred during the
                registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth
                fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has
                materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially
                affect, the registrant's internal control over financial
                reporting; and

5.       The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed,
         based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
         reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the
         registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
         function):

         a)     All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
                design or operation of internal control over financial reporting
                which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's
                ability to record, process, summarize and report financial
                information; and

<PAGE>

         b)     Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
                other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
                internal control over financial reporting.



         Date:    October 28, 2004           /s/ F. Duane Ackerman
                                             --------------------------------
                                             F. Duane Ackerman
                                             Chairman of the Board, Chief
                                             Executive Officer and President

















Note: Section 4(b) has been deleted pursuant to the transitional rule set forth
in the Commission's Release Nos. 33-8238; 34-47986; IC-26068, dated
June 5, 2003.

A signed original of this written statement required by Section 302 has been
provided to BellSouth Corporation and will be retained by BellSouth Corporation
and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon
request.