SBC Recognized As Global Leader In Customer Relationship Management, Providing Online Service, Shopping, Payment

Business Wire, August 15, 2000

SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 15, 2000

CIO Magazine Names SBC as one of Top 100 Companies Using the Internet;

SBC Companies Offering e-Buying, e-Help, e-Billing;

20% of DSL Customers Purchase Online

SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) has been recognized by IDG's CIO magazine as a global leader in leveraging information technology to improve customer-oriented business practices. SBC received the 2000 CIO-100 Award for its achievements in providing its customers with online service, shopping, purchase and payment options.

"Providing customers with e-business tools and data services that help them achieve their business goals is key to transforming SBC into the only communications company our customers will ever need. Effectively employing those same tools and services within our own organization is key to our own success," said Edward L. Glotzbach, executive vice president and chief information officer of SBC. "We recognize that many of our customers want the convenience of buying, billing and receiving service via the Internet and our goal is to make that process not only possible but easy as well.

"We are honored by this recognition of our customer relationship management achievements and proud of the skilled IT professionals at SBC who've made this possible," said Glotzbach.

"Customer relationship management is a way for large organizations to leverage technology to gain the depth of understanding of their customers that comes naturally to small, local businesses. It helps them build customer satisfaction and loyalty, better focus marketing efforts, and significantly increase sales," said Abbie Lundberg, CIO editor-in-chief. The 2000 CIO-100 Award recognizes SBC for excellence in strategically employing technology to better manage its customer relationships.

Online Service

SBC was recognized for augmenting its industry-leading call center and sales force efforts with online tools. For example, SBC has established e-mail customer service, giving customers another convenient option for accessing the information they need. The company also is expanding its online customer service programs to include Web-based inquiries.

Online Shopping

SBC provides extensive information about its products and services through its corporate and brand Web sites. The company yesterday began making that information more accessible to customers whose primary language is Spanish with the launch of the first in a series of Web pages tailored to the needs of key customer groups.

The first is a Spanish-language Web page on the Pacific Bell Web site. Spanish-language pages will be launched through the end of the year on other subsidiary Web sites. SBC plans to add specific Hispanic market web site content such as information on Prodigy en Espanol and Para Todos DirecTV Spanish programming to the Spanish-language pages.

Online Purchasing

Many of the services and products SBC sells, such as its new long-distance service in Texas, are available for purchase directly through the company's web sites, providing customers with new and efficient options for doing business with SBC. The company's DSL Internet Service has been among the most popular services to be purchased over the Internet, with approximately 20 percent of all orders placed online.

SBC's online transaction services are supported by a highly secure e-commerce environment that fully protects customer account information.

Online Billing

Millions of SBC single-line residential and business customers now are able to pay their bills online, even though the company's rollout of online presentment and payment options is still ongoing. Online bill presentment and payment is now available to SBC's Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell and Ameritech customers, and will be introduced to SNET and Nevada Bell customers at a later date.

Online billing customers can pay for all the same services that appear on those companies' paper bills, including phone services such as Call Notes, Internet Caller ID, Wireless, DirecTV and Internet and DSL services. The online bill payment option enables customers to access, review and pay their bill online anytime, quickly and safely, through SBC's member companies' Web sites or through more than 150 financial Web sites that offer customers online payment for all their bills.

e-SBC

In addition to leveraging the power of the Internet to enhance its own customer service, SBC last month announced a range of new and enhanced e-business agreements and offerings that together position the company to offer

its business customers a full range of New Economy infrastructure and services, from building a presence on the Web to automating the back office. These e-business initiatives leverage SBC's $6 billion Project Pronto network transformation project and complement its nearly $4 billion acquisition earlier this year of Sterling Commerce, a leading worldwide provider of e-business solutions.

CIO-100 Award

The recipients of this year's CIO-100 Award were selected through a three-step process. First, companies completed an online application form. Next, a judging panel of nine industry experts reviewed the companies and nominated those that best demonstrated expertise in customer service and customer relationship management, and set the benchmarks for others to follow. Finally, a team of ten CIO magazine editors and writers reviewed both the applications and expert recommendations and selected the final 100. Additional information on the award and its recipients is available at www.cio.com.