[GRAPHIC OMITTED][GRAPHIC OMITTED]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE             Contact:  Paul H. Riss, CEO
                                            phriss@elec-corp.com
                                            914-633-6500


       eLEC Announces Completion of Sale of Assets of Essex Communications


NEW ROCHELLE,  NY...January 2, 2003--- eLEC Communications  Corp. (OTCBB:  ELEC)
announced  today  that it has  completed  the  sale  of  certain  assets  of its
wholly-owned  subsidiary,   Essex  Communications,   Inc.  ("Essex"),  to  Essex
Acquisition Corp. ("EAC"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of BiznessOnline.com,  Inc.
In  connection  with such  sale,  EAC  assumed  approximately  $9.8  million  of
liabilities of Essex. All of Essex's customers,  which constituted substantially
all of eLEC's  customers when the related sale  agreement was executed,  and the
associated  accounts  receivable and  interconnection  agreements with the local
incumbent carriers in seven states were transferred to EAC.

eLEC's CEO, Paul Riss stated, "With the closing of this transaction we were able
to  significantly  reduce our liabilities and avoid the potential  bankruptcy of
Essex, which was our principal operating subsidiary. We are now able to focus on
rebuilding our business of providing low cost local and long distance  telephone
service. We are looking to channel eLEC's remaining resources into the growth of
our operating  subsidiaries,  New Rochelle  Telephone and Telecarrier  Services.
Since October 2002, we have been marketing local and long distance services only
in New  York,  where  UNE-P  margins  are high  and the  addressable  market  is
substantial. We expect to slowly enter other states as we identify opportunities
to earn significant profit margins under UNE-P. While working on the disposition
of the assets and liabilities of Essex, we have been able to sell  approximately
4,000 new lines through our New Rochelle  Telephone  subsidiary.  Of such lines,
approximately  2,800  lines  have been  provisioned  and 1,200  lines are in our
provisioning   system  and  moving  toward  completion.   To  help  finance  our
operations,  we  continue  to seek a new  working  capital  facility,  which  is
essential to our ongoing viability."

eLEC Communications Corp. is a competitive local exchange carrier that is taking
advantage of the convergence of the current and future competitive technological
and regulatory  developments  in the  telecommunications  industry.  eLEC offers
small   businesses   and   residential    customers   an   integrated   set   of
telecommunications  products  and  services,  including  local  exchange,  local
access, domestic and international long distance telephone,  and a full suite of
features,  including  items such as  three-way  calling,  call waiting and voice
mail.

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This  release  contains  forward-looking   statements  that  involve  risks  and
uncertainties.  eLEC's  actual  results may differ  materially  from the results
discussed  in the  forward-looking  statements.  Factors that might cause such a
difference include, among others, certain risks and uncertainties over which the
company  may  have  no  control.  For  further  discussion  of  such  risks  and
uncertainties,  which could cause actual results to differ from those  contained
in the  forward-looking  statements,  see the  discussions  contained  in eLEC's
Annual  Report  on Form  10-K  for the  year-ended  November  30,  2001  and its
Quarterly  Reports on Form 10-QSB for the quarters  ended February 28, 2002, May
31, 2002 and August 31, 2002 and any subsequent SEC filings.

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