Media contact:
John D. Baker
585/987-3270

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Dear Valued ACC Business Customers,

In the aftermath of a series of devastating hurricanes, ACC Business, a specialized brand from AT&T, is proud to report that AT&T has been working diligently to support the emergency efforts of government and relief agencies bringing aid to communities throughout the devastated Gulf Coast area.  We know that there is no way to quickly rebuild the communities or lives destroyed by a disaster of this magnitude.  However, AT&T is doing everything in their power to help restore crucial communications in the region and to minimize the effects of these hurricanes on our customers.

AT&T has also made a significant humanitarian commitment.  The AT&T Foundation has donated $1 million to the American Red Cross, and to date, AT&T employees have donated $500,000 to the Red Cross, which AT&T has matched.  In addition, AT&T has donated millions of dollars in “in-kind contributions” including diesel-powered generators, free long-distance calling for evacuees at the Astrodome in Houston and more than 35,000 AT&T PrePaid Phone Cards.  AT&T has also offered its services and expertise to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), establishing IP-based calling centers to provide evacuees and emergency workers with voice and data communications services.

AT&T is also highly focused on helping their customers get back in business by restoring, replacing and augmenting communications capabilities in the affected regions.  They are working with customers to evaluate how the hurricane has affected their communications capabilities and to ensure that invoices are cared for appropriately to reflect service outages.  ACC Business customers determined to be in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina will receive a credit to offset monthly charges from August 29, 2005 through the restoration, relocation, or disconnect of impacted services.  This is designed to provide customers with the opportunity to assess the needs of their business and to contact us to evaluate their options.  Due to the emphasis on restoring service as quickly as possible, some customers may initially receive bills that are not cared for.  If you receive a bill for impacted services that you feel should be credited, please contact ACC Business Customer Care and we will review your bill to determine the correct charges or credits due.

Throughout the hurricane and its aftermath, the AT&T Network remained stable.  However, AT&T’s ability to meet our contractual obligations may be affected as a result of the “force majeure” or natural disaster conditions affecting their underlying suppliers.  In the case of BellSouth, they have received formal notification that Hurricane Katrina affected the firm’s performance under its interconnection agreements and tariffs.  Ordering and provisioning intervals are therefore among the obligations that may be affected which could adversely affect ACC Business services.  AT&T is working closely with BellSouth and our other suppliers to quickly restore or re-provision affected services and to identify other service-affecting conditions.

If you have any specific service needs or circumstances arising from the impacts of Hurricane Katrina, we ask that you please contact ACC Business Customer Care at 1-888-286-2685 to discuss your specific situation.  As always, our commitment is on providing customers with the utmost in service and responsiveness, and we appreciate your support during this challenging time.

Sincerely,

John D. Baker
President and CEO