AT&T Earns Top Recognition For Small Business Online Customer Experience By Compass Intelligence

AT&T’s Small Business Web Portal Leads Telecom Industry by Excelling With Personalized Content and New Live Discussion Forum

San Antonio, Texas,-AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has announced that Compass Intelligence, a leading high-tech and telecommunications market research firm, has distinguished AT&T as a leader in online customer experience for small and midsized business customers.

According to the firm, the recently unveiled AT&T Onward Small Biz portal (www.att.com/OnwardSmallBiz) stood out from the competition as the top telecom resource — and among the top four sites overall — for small businesses online.

Compass Intelligence recognized AT&T for a focus on small business customers that starts on the main AT&T home page and carries throughout the site to the new small business portal, which is designed to give small business customers a personalized experience.

“AT&T’s commitment to serving small business customers with tailored content and resources in its online portal, Onward Small Biz, makes AT&T a leader in online experience for this market,” said Kneko Burney, president of Compass Intelligence. “In particular, AT&T’s small business portal provides an incredibly customized experience for small business customers because of tools such as the new online discussion feature, the Watercooler.”

The Onward Small Biz portal, launched earlier this year, gives customers a personalized experience based on the user’s self-selected profile. The Watercooler, a new feature recognized by Compass Intelligence as the “real jewel” of the small business portal, offers peer-to-peer online discussion capabilities for small business customers. The Onward Small Biz portal is one of the best discussion resources of all the vendors, according to Compass Intelligence, and serves as a great draw for users to build their profiles.

Among all vendors reviewed, AT&T was noted for having the cleanest corporate home page and for highlighting the company’s focus on various customer segments, such as small and enterprise business customers.

“The simplicity of this landing page is an asset because customers can easily identify which portion of the site they should visit,” Kneko noted. “Additionally, AT&T leverages a consistent look and feel throughout the site, which facilitates easier navigation.”

“This recognition reinforces AT&T’s commitment to offering small and midsized customers the most comprehensive set of communications products and services available to help them grow their businesses,” said John Regan, vice president, Business Marketing for AT&T. “Our new Onward Small Biz portal distinguishes AT&T from the competition with easy and free access to relevant, compelling and personalized content, including free online courses, expert advice and webinars.”

The Onward Small Biz portal complements AT&T’s industry-leading portfolio of communications products and services for small businesses. This portfolio includes enhanced digital voice, broadband Internet, messaging and wireless, and advertising and search engine-marketing solutions through AT&T Real Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM. Other Internet Protocol-based services designed for the unique needs of small to midsized business solutions include business e-mail services, Wi-Fi service, Web hosting, AT&T Unified MessagingSM, remote data storage, network security and data transport. All of these services are available in bundles that allow business owners to choose which solutions they need the most.