AT&T Delivers on Commitment to Invest in Its California Digital Infrastructure

A year after receiving its state-issued authorization to provide video service, AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), announced today that it is delivering on its commitment to invest in the state's digital infrastructure and bring next-generation services to more Californians.

By the end of this year, the company will have invested more than $1 billion as part of the first phase of its network upgrade adding more fiber-optics to bring advanced services to California.

Currently, customers in parts of more than 140 cities and counties across California have access to AT&T U-verse(SM) services -- the company's suite of Internet Protocol (IP)-based services that includes video and faster Internet access speeds. To assist with the upgrade, the company has added close to 900 jobs in the state, and plans to add up to 1,000 jobs this year.

"More and more cities across California are embracing the landmark nature of the state's video legislation and the benefits it brings to consumers and our economy," said Ken McNeely, president, AT&T California. "We look forward to continuing our work with cities throughout the state on our network upgrades to make our advanced services more widely available."

"More competition, more jobs, more investment in California, more video and broadband availability, what's not to like," said Senator Christine Kehoe (D. -- San Diego), Chair of the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee. "This is exactly what we had hoped for when we changed state law to encourage more video competition."

AT&T California's network investment extends beyond its new IP-based services. Over the past three years, the company has invested approximately $7.5 billion in its wireline and wireless networks in the state providing Californians with more choices and new, state-of-the-art communications services. The investment supports a wide variety of wireless, voice, data, video and broadband infrastructure and services.

AT&T California continues to expand and enhance its wireless network adding more than 550 new and acquired cell sites in California over the past two years alone. This expansion has improved wireless network coverage across the state, including areas of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, Orange County, the Inland Empire and Central Valley of California.

AT&T has also delivered dramatic change in some parts of California through the introduction and deployment of third-generation (3G) wireless broadband service that offers customers access to faster speeds for their laptops, with the ability to access the Internet, send and receive large files and work with e-mail from anywhere within the 3G network. Customers with 3G handsets have access to the latest entertainment, news and weather programming through Cellular Video and AT&T Music.

3G service is currently available in more than 400 cities throughout the state.

In 2008, AT&T plans to invest more than $400 million in its California wireless network to continue to improve service and bring advanced wireless services to more customers across the state.

"Wireless continues to be of strategic importance to AT&T," said McNeely. "We're investing in our California wireless network to ensure that we provide the reliability and advanced services our wireless customers have come to expect from the nation's largest wireless provider."

As part of the company's commitment to invest in the state's digital infrastructure, AT&T California continues its ongoing efforts to bring advanced services to more customers across the state.

Over the past two years, AT&T has added more than 450 Remote Terminals and 30 DSLAMs (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multipliers) to its California network improving service reliability and enabling the company to offer high- speed broadband service to more of its customers and to many areas for the first time.

In addition, the company has added close to 4,000 new route miles of fiber to its California network over this same period, bringing the total to more than 31,000 miles -- making it the state's largest.

Information set forth in this news release contains financial estimates and other forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. A discussion of factors that may affect future results is contained in AT&T's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AT&T disclaims any obligation to update or revise statements contained in this news release based on new information or otherwise.

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.

SOURCE AT&T Inc.