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Leading Research and Consulting Services Firm Ranks AT&T No. 1 in Meeting Business Customers' Needs

SB Informer
Thursday, December 7, 2006; 02:00 AM

AT&T Inc. announced that leading research and consulting services firm In-Stat rated AT&T No. 1 overall in three separate carrier "scorecards" that rate top telecom players relative to business customers' stated priorities. In a study of 1,205 U.S. telecommunications decision-makers, AT&T topped Verizon, Sprint, BellSouth and Qwest in meeting three critical business customer objectives: planning, implementing and managing a business network; addressing networking security needs; and ensuring smooth convergence of voice and data over a common network.

Respondents from large enterprises, businesses with 1,000 to 10,000-plus employees, ranked AT&T ahead of Verizon in helping them manage and secure their networks, which is critical as these two areas remain top IT spending priorities for large companies. AT&T also outpaced its competitors in enabling convergence, with the majority of respondents (56 percent) saying that AT&T best helps them address voice and data convergence over a common network. In-Stat believes that network convergence will play an increasingly important role in the enterprise business space over the next several years.

AT&T also tops In-Stat's rankings for the midsized enterprise market, businesses with 100 to 999 employees, a highly sought-after segment for the major telecommunications players. Because midsized companies are at a transition point where bandwidth requirements continue to grow and network management tasks become increasingly complex, it's essential for them to partner with a "one stop" provider of wide-ranging capabilities. The majority of midmarket business customers (52 percent) rank AT&T as No. 1 in helping them plan, implement and manage their networks. AT&T also scored higher than competitors in helping midsized customers meet network security needs, with 53 percent of the total respondents giving AT&T the most favorable ratings, ahead of Verizon and Sprint. With respect to voice and data convergence needs, AT&T again leads all competitors in helping companies of this size deploy voice and data over one secure network.

In-Stat also declared AT&T No. 1 in meeting the unique and always-changing needs of small business customers. Among those polled, AT&T leads all competitors in meeting the network management needs of companies with between 10 and 99 employees. Small businesses also trust AT&T to help them address network security requirements, with the majority ranking AT&T as the leader.

"These In-Stat Scorecard rankings are the most recent in a series of accolades lauding AT&T for successfully meeting the most critical networking needs of business customers, both large and small," said Bill Archer, senior vice president, Enterprise Services, AT&T. "We're proud of the confidence that business customers have shown in our ability to innovate and look forward to greater success in 2007."

Note: This AT&T release and other news announcements are available as part of an RSS feed at http://www.att.com/rss .

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. is one of the world's largest telecommunications holding companies and is the largest in the United States. Operating globally under the AT&T brand, AT&T companies are recognized as the leading worldwide providers of IP-based communications services to business and as leading U.S. providers of high speed DSL Internet, local and long distance voice, and directory publishing and advertising services. AT&T Inc. holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which is the No. 1 U.S. wireless services provider with 58.7 million wireless customers. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and AT&T products and services is available at http://www.att.com/ .

AT&T is a registered trademark of AT&T Knowledge Ventures. Subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. provide products and services under the AT&T brand.

For more information and detailed disclaimer information, please review this announcement in the AT&T newsroom at http://www.att.com/newsroom .

About In-Stat ( http://www.in-stat.com/ )

Technology vendors, service providers, technology professionals and market specialists, worldwide, rely on In-Stat's experienced staff and in-depth research to support critical business, product and technology decisions. In-Stat's insights are derived from both a deep technology understanding and comprehensive research, which examines each segment of the value chain for each market. Regular and ongoing end-user demand and primary research surveys underpin much of the analysis, enabling In-Stat to provide incisive market knowledge and guidance on future market opportunities.

In-Stat is a strategic segment of the $9 billion Reed Elsevier global information network, with access to an expansive worldwide electronic network, extensive technology databases and well-informed personnel. As a member of Reed Business Information, In-Stat is a division of the largest business-to-business publisher in the U.S.

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