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AT&T Mobilizes for Restoration Effort and Extends Community Support Services

Posted on: Thursday, 25 October 2007, 18:00 CDT

In response to the Southern California wildfires, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced mobilized resources for the anticipated largest customer-support and infrastructure-restoration effort in AT&T's California history. Although the telecommunications network continues to perform well during the crisis, the company is extending its community support services and calling upon resources from throughout the state and nation to restore telecommunications infrastructure that has been damaged in the fire.

Wireline Network

The network continues to perform well with minimal disruptions. Network congestion has eased and most calls are now completing normally.

Due to severe burn damage to a nine-mile fiber connection, the communities of Julian and Warner Springs remain isolated -- able to make calls within the community but not beyond. Technicians are currently working to establish a temporary microwave radio link to reconnect service to those areas.

The communities of Dulzura and Silverado Canyon also remain isolated. Fiber connections will be restored as soon as conditions permit.

AT&T is establishing emergency resource staging areas in San Diego County as central points of coordination for materials, technicians and vehicles involved in the restoration effort.

Wireless Network

More than 99 percent of cell sites in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Ventura counties are functioning normally. Since the start of the fires, 28 cell sites have been restored in these areas.

In San Diego County, the wireless network is at 95 percent capacity, despite call volumes running 30 to 50 percent above normal. AT&T crews have restored service to 27 cell sites since the crisis began Sunday. Additional capacity continues to be added to key cell sites to ensure network quality for emergency responders and customers.

Community Support

AT&T is establishing mobile customer service centers located at four local assistance centers, including the Fallbrook Community Center, Ramona Community School, Rancho Bernardo Community Center and Cuyamaca College in Rancho Santa Fe. Service representatives will be available to help residents with billing needs, relocation of services and other issues, as well as free wireless phone calls for responders and evacuees.

At those centers, AT&T has also worked with San Diego County to install key infrastructure, including T-1 lines, a total of 60 voice lines and enhanced wireless capacity.

AT&T has established a Wi-Fi hot spot at QUALCOMM Stadium to provide free wireless Internet service to evacuees at the facility.

AT&T has also established support centers that offer free wireless calls at evacuation centers in Temecula and San Bernardino.

For residents and small businesses displaced by the fires, AT&T California is providing certain voice mail and call forwarding features, free of charge, for 30 days to displaced consumers and small businesses. For customers who need a local service line installed at a temporary or new location, the Line Connection Fee will be waived. AT&T residential customers displaced by the fires can call 1-877-722-6787, and small business customers can call 1-800-750-2355 to have the services set up.

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

ABOUT AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. Among their offerings are the world's most advanced IP-based business communications services and the nation's leading wireless, high speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic markets, AT&T is known for the directory publishing and advertising sales leadership of its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations, and the AT&T brand is licensed to innovators in such fields as communications equipment. As part of its three-screen integration strategy, AT&T is expanding its TV entertainment offerings. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com.

© 2007 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T and the AT&T logo are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property. For more information, please review this announcement in the AT&T newsroom at http://www.att.com/newsroom.

Source: Business Wire

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