Business Services Industry

AT&T Inks Data Network Contract with Bruce Foods

Business Wire, Oct 11, 2007

AT&T Solution to Provide Efficiency and Business Continuity Plan for Louisiana-Based Food Manufacturer

NEW IBERIA, La. -- AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) has announced a new contract to provide voice and data network services to Bruce Foods Corp., one of America's largest privately owned food manufacturers. With headquarters in Louisiana, Bruce Foods employs more than 1,200 employees and operates four manufacturing plants throughout Louisiana, North Carolina and Texas.

Under the terms of the three-year contract, AT&T will serve as the primary network and data services provider to Bruce Foods and will equip locations with AT&T's Managed Internet Service (MIS) and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)-based Virtual Private Network (VNP).

AT&T's Internet Protocol (IP)-enabled platform will provide Bruce Foods with enhanced bandwidth and a reliable, private network that can be accessed simultaneously by any of Bruce Foods' branch sites. Furthermore, the fully meshed AT&T VPN solution allows the company's regional network sites to remain in communication even if one site is hit by a major outage. This helps to avert the problems that Bruce Foods faced during hurricanes Rita and Katrina two years ago.

"We needed a cost-efficient, unified network platform to help improve communications between our various manufacturing plants," said Bruce Parker, chief financial officer for Bruce Foods. "We're confident that the AT&T VPN solution will allow us to plan business operation continuity in the face of disaster and provide confidence in our overall network performance."

Bruce Foods wanted a single provider that could give the company all of the services and products that it currently needs, as well as the services and products that it will need in the future. AT&T's VPN solution is scalable and is expandable as the company grows.

Note: This AT&T release and other news announcements are available as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss.> About Bruce Foods Corp.

Founded in 1928 in New Iberia, Louisiana, Bruce Foods has been manufacturing original Cajun and Tex Mex food products for more than eighty years - long before these spicy cuisines were introduced to the rest of the world. Its Mexican food plant in El Paso, Texas was founded in 1931 and pioneered the first canned Mexican foods. More information is available at www.brucefoods.com.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. Among their offerings are the world's most advanced IP-based business communications services and the nation's leading wireless, high speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic markets, AT&T is known for the directory publishing and advertising sales leadership of its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations, and the AT&T brand is licensed to innovators in such fields as communications equipment. As part of its three-screen integration strategy, AT&T is expanding its TV entertainment offerings. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com.

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