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AT&T Ranks First in Yankee Group Service Provider Scorecard Garnering Top Honors for Customer Service and Support

Posted on: Wednesday, 11 August 2004, 06:00 CDT

BEDMINSTER, N.J., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T's emphasis on providing superior customer care continues to be lauded by industry analysts with the most recent example being its number-one ranking by the Yankee Group in that firm's Service Provider Scorecard. AT&T led its competitors in the four customer experience categories the scorecard evaluates as part of its assessment of the U.S. enterprise communications market.

AT&T's ratings were strongest in service and support, corporate reputation, technical competence, and sales and marketing -- rankings that illustrate the success of AT&T's commitment to operational excellence and to improving customer experience. To accomplish this, the company has invested more than $700 million in streamlining and automating processes and improving customer-facing performance metrics during 2003.

"In this age of solution selling and the customer experience, service providers must rely on a value proposition that is more strategic than simply offering the customer the lowest price," said Bryan Van Dussen, director of telecommunications research at Yankee. "Some companies are transforming, others are climbing the value chain, and others are focused on executing excellent customer care. As a leading provider to the enterprise market, AT&T is advancing in each of these areas."

These ratings complement others AT&T has gleaned recently. Yankee also rated AT&T highest in "Ability to Execute" in Security Risk Management Services in a recent report on the managed security services market. And, earlier this year, AT&T was rated first for global network services overall in Yankee's Global Network Strategies Survey of more than 1,000 multinational companies worldwide; scoring the highest in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia Pacific regions.

"AT&T is known for being an innovator in communications and a leader in serving the complex networking and technology needs of businesses -- now we're raising the bar on customer experience," said Kathleen Flaherty, AT&T Chief Marketing Officer. "The Yankee Scorecard results certainly add credence to our claim and solidify our position in the industry as the leading provider of communications services to business customers."

The Yankee Group ranked the seven largest U.S. telecommunications companies that provide network services to the enterprise business market. In addition to the four categories mentioned above, the Yankee Group scorecard also focuses on financial performance, billing, and price. The methodology included the analysis of more than 1,000 survey evaluations (approximately 750 survey respondents) and the ranking reflects the perceptions and satisfaction of network managers.

Of all the service providers rated, AT&T earned the highest marks for service and support, the analyst reported, by offering a single point of contact for inquiries and issues.

AT&T earned the highest score in corporate reputation due to its strong customer brand awareness and perception. The company achieved a score of 10 out of 10. Yankee also gave AT&T above-average scores for its vision and execution regarding its applications-aware networking, account management and partnership strategies.

AT&T's high honors in technical competence, according to Yankee, was based on AT&T's ability to migrate customers to new technologies, to deliver all required services to all business locations, the Yankee Group's own assessment of the company's technical capability, and overall customer satisfaction with the company's technical capabilities.

Finally, in the sales and marketing category, the report says AT&T achieved the highest score based on its convergence, partnership and value-add strategies.

To determine overall service provider ratings Yankee Group relied on publicly available financial metrics published in company reports, the Yankee Group's enterprise end-user survey data (more than 1,000 service provider evaluations across three surveys), and detailed Yankee Group analytical assessments.

About AT&T

For more than 125 years, AT&T (NYSE "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 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.

The Yankee Group (http://www.yankeegroup.com/)

The 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.

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AT&T

CONTACT: Kate Rankin, AT&T, +1-908-658-6499 (office), korankin@att.com

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

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