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SBC Communications to Adopt AT&T Name; Following Merger Approval, Combined SBC-AT&T Will Build on a 120-Year Heritage of Innovation, Service Quality, Integrity, ReliabilitySAN ANTONIO --(Business Wire)-- Oct. 27, 2005 -- New AT&T Logo to be Unveiled at Merger Close, Major Multimedia Advertising, Marketing Campaign to be Launched The brand known worldwide for telecommunications innovation, quality and reliability will soon become synonymous with the transition to a new era of integrated communications and entertainment services. SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) today announced it will adopt AT&T, Inc. as its name following completion of its acquisition of AT&T (NYSE:T), which is expected in late 2005. "The AT&T name has a proud and storied heritage, as well as unparalleled recognition around the globe among both businesses and consumers," said Edward E. Whitacre Jr., chairman and CEO of SBC Communications Inc. "No name is better-suited than AT&T to represent the new company's passion to deliver innovation, reliability, quality, integrity and unsurpassed customer care. This is the brand that will lead the industry in delivering the next generation of communications and entertainment services." The decision is a milestone in the history of telecommunications, extending the reign of a global icon. AT&T is inextricably linked to the birth and growth of the communications industry - delivering ground-breaking innovations that enabled modern computers and electronic devices, wireless phones and Voice over IP (VoIP). The brand also has represented quality service, integrity and reliability for more than 120 years. At close, the new company will unveil a fresh, new logo. After completion of the merger, the transition to the new brand will be heavily promoted with the largest multimedia advertising and marketing campaign in either company's history, as well as through other promotional initiatives. At close, the company will also announce the stock market ticker symbol it intends to use. The famed AT&T brand will be used in a broad array of services offered by the family of companies. The brand transition will begin immediately upon merger close, along with the integration of networks, product and service portfolios, and customer care systems. The new brand will be incorporated into product and service offerings, and will appear on bills and correspondence, as well as on company buildings. With these traits and long heritage, the AT&T brand will provide a strong platform as the combined company leads the industry's evolution to a new generation of Internet Protocol (IP)-based services, which can be delivered via wireline or wireless networks to any number of enabled devices such as mobile phones, PCs and hand-held digital devices. The AT&T brand was selected because it provides the best brand platform to bridge the combined companies' wide range of customer segments, diverse geographies and robust portfolio of products, services and customer care. The AT&T brand is especially strong in the critical enterprise market, where leading chief information officers and industry experts widely acknowledge it as the brand of choice and where it is strongly associated with industry innovation and leadership. Additionally, it has almost universal awareness as a communications brand: Internal research shows that in the United States, consumer awareness of the AT&T brand is 98 percent and business awareness is virtually 100 percent, while global awareness is nearly as high. "The AT&T brand reflects what customers are looking for in a provider," Whitacre said. "They want the latest technology and services, but they also want reliability, quality and trustworthiness. Only the AT&T brand offers this ideal combination of traits." Neither SBC nor AT&T residential, business or wholesale customers are required to take action as a result of today's announcement. They will continue to be served by their current provider as they have been in the past. They should order services, pay bills and request help from their current provider as they always have. Customers can visit www.sbc.com/newsroom for more details. Strengthening a 120-Year Heritage for the 21st Century The communications industry is currently in the midst of the most substantial technology change in more than 100 years. IP allows the delivery of voice, data, video and entertainment services over a single network infrastructure, enabling integration of services like never before. Ultimately, the SBC-AT&T merger is driven by the objective to deliver a full range of these integrated IP services to customers, accessible seamlessly via wireline or wireless connections. "The brand we associate with the invention of the telecommunications industry is the brand that will soon represent the re-invention of communications and entertainment," Whitacre said. "The combination of SBC and AT&T will bring together the right assets and the right strategy to be a very strong competitor in this new IP-based services market, and we fully intend to make the most of this once-in-a-century opportunity." This strategy will be enabled by the combination of SBC's and AT&T's complementary strengths. In fact, SBC local service and broadband capabilities - 50.2 million access lines and 6.5 million DSL lines in service - and the advanced and powerful AT&T global IP backbone network and software infrastructure will give the new company unparalleled IP assets in the marketplace. Together, the two companies can maximize those assets and develop new IP innovations more effectively than either company could on its own. In addition, SBC companies offer nationwide wireless coverage through Cingular Wireless, which has more than 52.3 million subscribers across the country. SBC owns 60 percent of Cingular. About SBC SBC Communications Inc. is a Fortune 50 company whose subsidiaries, operating under the SBC brand, provide a full range of voice, data, networking, e-business, directory publishing and advertising, and related services to businesses, consumers and other telecommunications providers. SBC holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which serves more than 52 million wireless customers. SBC companies provide high-speed DSL Internet access lines to more American consumers than any other provider and are among the nation's leading providers of Internet services. SBC companies also offer satellite TV service. Additional information about SBC and SBC products and services is available at www.sbc.com. |
