Pacific Bell Introduces Web Hosting; Comprehensive Web Hosting Packages Address Needs for California Businesses That Need a Web Presence

Business Wire, Sept 9, 1997

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 1997--To give small and large business customers alike a simple way to establish and maintain a presence on the Internet, Pacific Bell today announced a comprehensive Web hosting service. The new service ensures that Web sites will have a redundant, high-speed connection backed by around-the-clock technical support. Moreover, the Web hosting solutions are particularly attractive to smaller businesses, offering inexpensive Web hosting solutions that are scaleable, redundant, and backed by around-the-clock technical support.

"Our Web hosting service is a tremendous value to small to medium sized businesses. It gives them the reliability, support, and high speed connectivity that our largest customers expect at very affordable prices," said Eric Boyer, director, Internet Services Business Markets for SBC Communications, Inc. "Pacific Bell knows what California businesses need and understands communications networks, making us an ideal partner for Web hosting needs."

Web hosting is one of the fastest growing sectors of the booming Internet industry. Forrester Research estimates that the Web hosting market will exceed $5 billion by the year 2000.

"With our Web hosting service, we are leveraging Pacific Bell's core competencies -- namely managing telecommunications networks and providing world-class customer support -- into a new line of business," said Boyer.

Pacific Bell's Web hosting offers customers a choice of UNIX or Windows NT platforms, using best-of-breed components from industry-leading manufacturers. Based on a solid understanding of what businesses need to support a range of traffic to their Web sites, Pacific Bell offers redundant DS3 (45 Mbps) connections to the Internet, giving visitors faster access to sites, which is considered one of the most important features of efficient Web surfing. Pacific Bell's Network Operations Centers offer customers access to experienced engineers to troubleshoot and answer questions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sites are backed up daily and all server maintenance and upgrades are included in the Web hosting service, giving customers total control of Web site content.

Pacific Bell offers competitive, multi-level pricing for its Web hosting services. Customers can choose between dedicated services or any one of three shared server options, which range from $125 to $750 per month, including Global Service Provider charges. Domain name registration and maintenance is included in the fee (excludes InterNIC fees), branding a company and offering the option of advertising the site by its (URL) Universal Resource Locator.

Pacific Bell Internet Services is a full-service Internet provider serving business and residential customers. The companies offer a broad range of Internet access services that feature simple, affordable and reliable ways for communicating with the estimated 25 to 30 million users on the world's largest and most powerful network.

Pacific Bell Internet Services is a company of SBC Communications Inc., an international leader in the telecommunications industry, with more than 32 million access lines and nearly 5 million wireless customers across the United States, as well as investments in telecommunications businesses in nine countries. Under the Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell, Nevada Bell and Cellular One brands, the company, through its subsidiaries, offers a wide range of innovative services, including local and long-distance telephone service, wireless communications, paging, Internet access, cable TV and messaging, as well as telecommunications equipment, and directory advertising and publishing. SBC (www.sbc.com) has approximately 114,000 employees. SBC reported 1996 revenues of $23.5 billion.

CONTACT: Pacific Bell

John Britton, 415/394-3764

or

Fleishman Hillard Inc.

John Sommerfield, 415/356-1041