AT&T Businessdirect Named as Best Enterprise Customer Portal by Yankee Group for Second Consecutive Year

AT&T is the Only Carrier to Receive “Superior” Ratings in All Areas Evaluated

Bedminster, New Jersey, April 12, 2006, AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) today announced that it has been recognized by the Yankee Group for the second consecutive year for providing customers with the strongest online support and service experience in the industry with its Web portal, AT&T BusinessDirect. In a review of several carriers, AT&T BusinessDirect was the only portal to receive superior ratings in all categories evaluated.

AT&T BusinessDirect combines service management and support reporting tools into a single, secure extranet site that provides users with increased visibility and cost control over their network performance and investments.

The Yankee Group study, which was completed in late 2005 and with results published last week, compared ordering, maintenance, billing and network management functionality in the portals of six tier-1 service providers. In addition, the study concluded that AT&T had the strongest enterprise portal across all of these areas with the widest range of functionality.

“AT&T continues to be the industry leader for online customer service and support with AT&T BusinessDirect,” said Joseph Levine, senior analyst for Billing & Payment Application Strategies at the Yankee Group. “AT&T stood out in 2005 by offering enterprise customers the ability to chat with customer service representatives on the Web. This is just one more way AT&T has succeeded in meeting the needs and preferences of its diversified customer base.”

Each month, more than 458,000 businesses conduct in excess of 2.9 million transactions using AT&T BusinessDirect. Customer transactions through the portal — including ordering and maintenance inquiries — increased 12 percent in 2005.

“We are once again honored to be acknowledged by Yankee Group as the leader in business portal services. This confirms AT&T’s ongoing commitment to and investment in providing a superb customer experience,” said Bob Sloan, AT&T eSales & Service vice president. “We will continue to leverage technology, enhance the portal’s robust suite of tools and deliver the best online experience to our customers around the world.”

About the New 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 more than 54 million wireless customers. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and AT&T products and services is available at www.TheNewATT.com.

Yankee Group (http://www.yankeegroup.com)Yankee Group is the global leader in communications & networking research and consulting. The company helps businesses understand the opportunities, risks and competitive pressures of developing, deploying and consuming products and services that drive communication or information exchange. Now in its fourth decade, the Yankee Group is based in Boston with offices throughout North America and Europe.

© 2006 AT&T Knowledge Ventures. All rights reserved. Subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. provide products and services under the AT&T brand.

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Michael Coe

AT&T Inc.

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