AT&T BOOSTS 1-800-CALL ATT SERVICE WITH NEW DIRECTORYASSISTANCE FEATURE THAT PROTECTS THE PUBLIC'S TRUST

Business Wire, Nov 10, 1994

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 10, 1994--AT&T will expand its popular 1-800-CALL ATT (sm) service to include an easy-to-use directory assistance feature and automatic call connection capability, the company announced today.

The AT&T offer does not automatically bill the phone number from which the call is placed. As a result, the AT&T offer does not raise fraud and customer confusion problems unlike a recently introduced MCI service. MCI's service has been challenged as illegal by AT&T. Businesses, including hotels and universities, also have complained to the Federal Communications Commission. AT&T will bill customers for the directory assistance feature of 1-800-CALL ATT on their calling cards or credit cards as the law requires.

The 1-800-CALL ATT directory assistance feature will allow customers to ask for only the city and state or country for the listing -- not an area code or country code -- to obtain desired information which includes both the telephone number and, for added convenience, the address.

"This capability will be especially valuable to travelers and other callers who are away from their homes or offices," says Jack McMaster, a product marketing vice president for AT&T's consumer long distance business. "Without having to remember an area code or country code, and without having to have a pencil to write down the number, customers now can locate and reach the important people in their lives."

AT&T says the capability is a natural addition to the service menu of 1-800-CALL ATT, which already includes automated calling card, credit card, and collect calling, AT&T True Message (sm) service, and customer service.

"In just 11 months since we introduced 1-800-CALL ATT, we have hundreds of thousands of customers using it everyday. In fact, our projections indicate that we are exceeding MCI's 1-800-COLLECT average daily calling volumes by 20%," says McMaster.

"Customers tell us they like the convenience of having to remember only one 800 number for their calling needs. And, because 1-800-CALL ATT carries the AT&T brand, they can trust that the service is high quality and offered at a competitive price," he added.

The new offer protects the public's trust in the toll- free status of 800 service, which AT&T developed and introduced 27 years ago. In its recent complaint to the FCC about MCI's service, AT&T noted that 800 services have become "universally understood and accepted as toll-free to the calling party."

Charging the caller for information conveyed via an 800 service without the required billing arrangement, such as a calling card or credit card, "flies squarely in the face of the Congressional mandate prohibiting the deceptive use of 800 numbers," AT&T further asserted in documents filed with the FCC last month.

Charges for the 1-800-CALL ATT directory assistance feature depend upon whether the customer needs a domestic or an international number. Customers will be charged 75 cents for up to two domestic telephone numbers and $3.95 for one international number.

There will be no additional service charge for use of the calling card to obtain directory assistance information and no charge for automatic call connection under the terms of the promotional tariff which is planned to be in effect until March 23, 1995.

When the customer asks AT&T to complete his or her call after obtaining directory assistance, normal calling card rates and service charges will apply. The service will be available later this year pending tariff approval.

CONTACT: AT&T

              Carol Henry
              908 221-8089 (office)
              908 766-7248 (home)
              or Janet Wyles
              908 221-2907 (office)
              908 356-7315 (home)