AT&T and DIRECTV Extend Decadelong Business Relationship

AT&T and DIRECTV Extend Decadelong Business Relationship

AT&T to Provide Voice, Data and MPLS Services

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) announced today that AT&T has extended its relationship with DIRECTV, Inc., the nation's leading provider of digital satellite television service. DIRECTV will continue its current OneNet(R) contract for an additional year at a value of $33 million. AT&T's OneNet Service provides a flexible solution for companies, like DIRECTV, that have a need for multiple communications technologies.

Under the terms of the agreement, AT&T will continue to provide DIRECTV with toll-free 800, Advanced Features and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Frame Relay services that support 18 call centers and approximately 60 corporate WAN points of presence. AT&T will also begin to provide Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) services, which will allow DIRECTV to employ Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) in its call center support and enterprise networks.

"DIRECTV relies on AT&T to connect our vast call center network, ensuring that DIRECTV's more than 15 million customers have easy access to customer service representatives on a 24/7 basis," said Mike Benson, executive vice president and chief information officer, DIRECTV, Inc. "The services that AT&T provides for DIRECTV enable us to better control costs while gaining the flexibility that we need in order to support our top-rated customer service operations."

The agreement confirms DIRECTV's relationship with AT&T, which spans more than 10 years.

Note: This AT&T release and other news announcements are available as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss.

About DIRECTV

DIRECTV, Inc., the nation's leading satellite television service provider, presents the finest television experience available to more than 15.6 million customers through exclusive content, industry-leading customer service (which has surpassed cable for six years running) and superior technologies. Each day, DIRECTV subscribers enjoy over 250 channels of 100% digital picture and sound; exclusive programming and the most comprehensive collection of sports programming available anywhere including NFL SUNDAY TICKET(TM), and MLB EXTRA INNINGS(TM). DIRECTV (NYSE:DTV) also leads the digital television technology revolution with exclusives such as NFL SUNDAY TICKET SuperFan(TM), US Open Interactive and YES Network Interactive and will soon have the capacity to offer over 150 channels in HD. DIRECTV is approximately 39 percent owned by News Corporation. For the most up-to-date information on the Company, please visit directv.com.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. is one of the world's largest telecommunications holding companies and is the largest in the United States. Operating globally under the AT&T brand, AT&T companies are recognized as the leading worldwide providers of IP-based communications services to business and as leading U.S. providers of high speed DSL Internet, local and long distance voice, and directory publishing and advertising services. AT&T Inc. holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which is the No. 1 U.S. wireless services provider with 58.7 million wireless customers. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and AT&T products and services is available at http://www.att.com/.

AT&T is a registered trademark of AT&T Knowledge Ventures. Subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. provide products and services under the AT&T brand.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: AT&T Inc.

CONTACT: Gina Pernetti of AT&T, +1-916-847-8542, or gp7182@att.com; or
Robert Mercer of DIRECTV, Inc., +1-310-726-4683, or rgmercer@directv.com

Web site: http://www.att.com/
http://www.att.com/rss
http://www.directv.com/

-------
Profile: intent