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AAA Extends AT&T Contract to Stay Connected with its 47 Million Members ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AAA (American Automobile Association), North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, has awarded AT&T a $21 million networking contract to keep its roadside assistance and travel services easily accessible to more than 47 million members. The three-year contract extends an existing agreement.The AT&T networking solution encompasses an array of local and long- distance voice, data, hosting and remote-access Internet services. AAA's 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week emergency roadside service is supported by AT&T Toll-Free Service, with advanced features that enable the association to route calls to an appropriate call center based on the time of day, day of the week and location of the member's club. AAA typically handles more than 2 million toll-free emergency roadside service calls a month. AT&T continues to host the association's consumer Web site -- http://www.aaa.com/ -- from AT&T Internet Data Centers (IDCs) in Florida and Illinois. The Web site, which routes visitors to their local AAA club site, is visited an average of 120,000 times a day. It provides association members access to AAA TourBook(R) guides and TripTik(R) routings. Members also can instantly learn about road conditions, book hotels, cruises and flights; order maps and arrange car rentals or insurance. Non-members can easily access AAA maps, obtain driving directions and book hotels via http://www.aaamaps.com/ . By hosting from two IDCs, AT&T can balance traffic to the Web site on its Internet backbone network, ensuring ready consumer access and fast page loads. The route diversity also supports AAA's business continuity and disaster recovery plans. AT&T owns and operates 22 IDCs around the world and is opening additional centers this year in Paris, Tokyo and London. Additionally, the association relies on AT&T's high-speed frame relay and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) services as the backbone for ClubLink(R), AAA's proprietary data network that links the association's national office with affiliate clubs nationwide. Various AAA clubs are using AT&T Virtual Private Network (VPN) services to dispatch towing companies more quickly and effectively. This improves the response speed for AAA to assist a stranded motorist. The agreement also provides AAA clubs the opportunity to purchase AT&T local services at competitive prices under a nationwide contract. By purchasing a range of communications services from AT&T, AAA is bundling its purchasing power and offering additional value to its clubs. Services are provided through AT&T OneNet(R) Service, which bundles a custom solution of voice, data and Internet Protocol services into one contract. About AT&T For more than 125 years, AT&T (NYSE "T") has been known for unparalleled quality and reliability in communications. Backed by the research and development capabilities of AT&T Labs, the company is a global leader in local, long distance, Internet and transaction-based voice and data services. About AAA As the nation's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides its members in the U.S. and Canada with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for- profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety of all travelers. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991018/ATT ) Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991018/ATT AT&T CONTACT: Julie Spechler of AT&T, +1-954-493-6134, [email protected]; orGeoff Sundstrom of AAA, +1-407-444-8014, [email protected] for AT&T Web site: http://www.att.com/http://www.aaa.com/http://www.aaamaps.com/ |