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AT&T-Sponsored Survey Highlights Consumer Interest and Awareness In Voice Over the Internet Services (VoIP)

Posted on: Wednesday, 3 March 2004, 06:00 CST

BEDMINSTER, N.J., March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- According to an Ipsos-Insight Express study, commissioned and released by AT&T today, three out of four adults have heard of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.

The surprising results of the recent consumer interest and awareness study suggests that consumers are excited about the technology, so much so, that they believe it is much more pervasive than current estimates from industry watchers.

This was most evident in results that found 74 percent of the sampled population of 1,000 adults has heard of some form of VoIP. That percentage is approximately 4x the consumer awareness of Wi-Fi (19 percent), a popular wireless high-speed connection technology, and exceeds that of DSL (66 percent), a high-speed method to move data over phone lines. Other related data also reveals that 24 percent of consumers believe their calls have at some point traveled over the Internet.

"This research unquestionably validates consumer interest and excitement around VoIP," said Cathy Martine, senior vice president of Internet Telephony and Consumer Product Management. "It's clear that many consumers understand the 'wow' factor of VoIP services. We're on the verge of a new era of communications services when any 'thing' -- phone, PDA, wristwatch or computer -- will connect any 'where.' AT&T has been involved in the VoIP market since 1997 and we believe this research confirms that VoIP is now ready for prime time."

The approximately 750 individuals that had 'heard' of VoIP technology qualified to be included in the remainder of the survey. The findings that follow are indicative of that group's excitement, awareness and understanding of the technology:

* Nearly two thirds of the participating consumers (63 percent) would go

so far as to say, 'VoIP will change the way they communicate.'

* 66 percent suggested VoIP's impact on their lives will be similar to

that of digital music.

* 58 percent compare it to computer games, and 57 percent a flat screen

TV.

Further evidence suggests that consumers believe the technology will emerge rapidly. Nearly one in two consumers believe phone service will move to the Internet within two years (47 percent) and nearly one in four (23 percent) of those respondents believe it will happen this year. And even non-users are interested. Among current "non users" aware of VoIP services, 76 percent would consider actually implementing the service in the next year, depending on the price and package offering.

The research found many other points of interest from companies most closely associated/best positioned to deliver on the technology to features consumers are most looking forward to obtaining. For an executive summary of the survey results, please visit http://www.att.com/presskit/voip.

Facts about AT&T's IP networking capabilities:

* AT&T recently announced AT&T CallVantage, its phone service for

broadband.

* Consumers in three states have been trialing CallVantage for several

months.

* AT&T will soon launch CallVantage in 100 markets nationwide.

* AT&T is the largest carrier of IP traffic in North America.

* Unlike some competitors, AT&T owns its own global IP backbone network

that will help differentiate its VoIP service from competitors.

* Reliability, scalability and security are hallmarks of the AT&T

network.

* AT&T has 21 global Internet Data Centers directly connected to its IP

backbone with four more to be opened this year.

* AT&T offers business customers the industry's first global Voice over

IP-specific service level guarantee for voice quality.

About the Study

The Ipsos-Insight Express Phone Omnibus was used to field these questions among a broadly representative sample of households. A total of 1001 consumers were involved between January 16 through January 18, 2004. Ipsos-Insight Express is a multi-client phone study. The questionnaire includes questions in various non-competing topics, and all clients share in the demographic and classification data provided.

About AT&T

AT&T (http://www.att.com/) For more than 125 years, AT&T has been known for unparalleled quality and reliability in communications. Backed by the research and development capabilities of AT&T Labs, the company is a global leader in local, long distance, Internet and transaction-based voice and data services.

AT&T 'Safe Harbor'

The foregoing, including statements relating to cash flow, new product offerings and new market opportunities, contains "forward-looking statements" which are based on management's beliefs as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events made by and information currently available to management. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside AT&T's control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. These risk factors include the impact of increasing competition, continued capacity oversupply, regulatory uncertainty and the effects of technological substitution, among other risks. For a more detailed description of the factors that could cause such a difference, please see AT&T's 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AT&T disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This information is presented solely to provide additional information to further understand the results of AT&T.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991018/ATT )

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991018/ATT

AT&T

CONTACT: Gary Morgenstern, AT&T, +1-908-234-6416, gmorgenstern@att.com;or Darren Brandt, +1-212-446-1861, dbrandt@sloanepr.com, for AT&T

Web site: http://www.att.com/

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