AT&T IP Flexible Reach Offers New Capabilities and Allows Small Businesses to ’IP-Enable’ Key Phone Systems

Service Works with Legacy Systems, Improves Efficiencies Through Convergence and Assigns Virtual Phone Numbers That Make Small Businesses Appear National in Scope

San Antonio, Texas.-Demonstrating its commitment to meeting the needs of small and medium businesses (SMBs), AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) has announced that AT&T IP Flexible Reach can now be added to existing key telephone (multiline analog) systems. This enables SMBs to transition to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) without having to replace their legacy systems.

IP Flexible Reach, which is available nationwide, uses VoIP technology and enables unlimited local and on-net calling, as well as competitive long distance and international calling plans. VoIP reduces costs by converging voice and data over a single IP connection and maximizes bandwidth usage over existing networks.

In addition, SMBs can benefit from IP Flexible Reach’s “virtual telephone number” capability, which allows businesses to support telephone numbers from multiple local calling areas and expand their geographic coverage. This capability gives the appearance that a business is local even when the physical office may be hundreds or thousands of miles away.

The virtual telephone number capability also enables small businesses to:

* Route calls originating from across the country and answer them at a central location.
* Assign telephone numbers for branch office sites that are supported by a single centralized IP PBX.
* Use an existing IP data network to conveniently distribute the calls to branch office sites.
* Access local calling feature options, such as Local Number Portability, E911, Caller ID, Directory Listings, etc.
* Simulate local numbers in the remote area and provide “free” local calling.

“IP Flexible Reach allows smaller businesses — even those with traditional key analog systems — to easily and affordably migrate to VoIP calling plans,” said John Regan, AT&T vice president, Business Marketing. “The product addresses the challenges faced by today’s small and medium business customers and enables them to better meet their business needs for enhanced communications and voice and data convergence.”

IP Flexible Reach provides alternate access to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) in most major markets in the United States and helps to ensure that telephony, including 9-1-1 calls, can continue outside the IP network if necessary. A built-in feature for IP Flexible Reach provides SMBs with voice-traffic prioritization, including the flexibility to expand when levels of higher bandwidth are required. In addition to key telephone systems, AT&T IP Flexible Reach is already available with TDM PBX’s, certified IP PBX’s and the AT&T Voice DNASM service.