ADSL: SBC Expands Massive ADSL Deployment to Southwest Region - Houston, Dallas and Austin, TX - Company Business and Marketing

EDGE, On & About AT&T, April 19, 1999

As part of its industry-leading effort to satisfy customers' need for bandwidth and faster Internet access, SBC Communications Inc. has announced the availability of high-speed Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) service in the Texas cities of Houston, Dallas and Austin. The Texas ADSL deployments - the first in SBC's Southwestern Bell territory - are part of SBC's overall plan to bring the technology to 8.2 million consumers and 1.3 million businesses by the end of 1999.

ADSL, which provides consumers with a dedicated high-speed connection from their computer to SBC's network in order to access the Internet or corporate networks at speeds up to 200 times faster than conventional analog modems, was introduced in California in 1998 through SBC's Pacific Bell affiliate. "In mid January, SBC announced the nation's largest deployment of ADSL to meet exploding demand for high-speed Internet access and data transfer, and our quick roll-out in Texas is a prime example of this commitment," said Mike Turner, executive vice president-corporate planning and capital management, SBC. "ADSL is an ideal broadband solution for Internet enthusiasts, work-at-home professionals and small businesses, and it is an important addition to SBC's full range of data services for consumers and businesses of all sizes." To further enhance Southwestern Bell's capabilities as a full-service data and networking provider, the company also officially announced the formation of Southwestern Bell Network Integration (SBNI). Headquartered in Dallas, SBNI is the number one data networking provider in Southwestern Bell's five states, streamlining the company's existing networking capabilities into one organization. SBNI employees support Southwestern Bell's sales force as consultants and technical specialists in areas such as design, ordering, fulfillment and project implementation. Southwestern Bell also is establishing a Data Communications Center in Austin, Texas, to provide technical support for ADSL and other data services across the five-state Southwestern Bell region. SBC will deploy ADSL equipment in 526 central offices by the end of the year. In Southwestern Bell territory - Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas - the service will be available to 3.2 million residential customers and 440,000 businesses through 271 central offices. In California, Pacific Bell now offers ADSL service through 123 wire centers, up from 90 in January. By the end of the year, Pacific Bell will offer ADSL to 5 million residential and 900,000 business customers through 255 wire centers. ADSL trials are underway in Connecticut under SBC's Southern New England Telecommunications affiliate, and plans are underway to deploy the service later this year in the company's Nevada Bell territory. SBC's standard ADSL service uses regular phone lines to provide speed options which start at a minimum connection speed of 384 Kbps downstream (to the home or remote location) which can in many cases reach up to 1.5 megabits per second - 50 times faster than today's common 28.8 kilobits per second (Kbps) analog modems - and upstream connection speeds of 128 kilobits per second. (Downstream throughput speeds will vary depending on the customer's distance from the central office and other factors, but the downstream connection speed will be at a minimum of 384 Kbps.) ADSL connections are available for as low as $39 per month. Equipment and installation is available from SBC companies for a one-time charge as low as $198. SBC also offers a premium package with a minimum downstream connection speed of 1.5 megabits per second which can reach up to 6 Mbps, and upstream connections of 384 Kbps. To receive service, customers must be located within 17,500 feet, or about 3.3 miles, of an ADSL-equipped central office and their lines must meet certain criteria. SBC's ADSL deployment is an important step forward in its commitment to offer a full portfolio of data products and services to meet customers' evolving data needs. As recently reported, SBC's data business has grown approximately 33 percent a year, and the company is continuing to execute its plan to develop new data products and offer a high-speed, high-capacity network for next generation data traffic. SWBT and PB are companies of SBC Communications Inc., a global leader in the telecommunications industry, with more than 36.9 million access lines and 6.9 million wireless customers across the United States, as well as investments in telecommunications businesses in 11 countries. Under the Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell, SNET, Nevada Bell and Cellular One brands, SBC, through its subsidiaries, offers a wide range of innovative services. SBC offers local and long-distance telephone service, wireless communications, data communications, paging, Internet access, and messaging, as well as telecommunications equipment, and directory advertising and publishing. SBC has approximately 129,000 employees and its annual revenues rank it in the top 50 among Fortune 500 companies.