AT&T Wins Frost & Sullivan 2009 Market Leadership Award in SONET Services

DALLAS, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AT&T* today announced that it has been awarded the Frost & Sullivan 2009 Market Leadership Award in SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) Services. The award recognizes AT&T for its progressive portfolio of SONET services and unrivaled strength across the retail and wholesale segments.

According to Frost & Sullivan, while next-generation networks like Ethernet and MPLS (Multi-protocol Label Switching) will continue to challenge SONET, Frost & Sullivan does not expect an overall decline for many years.  Demand will continue, from both service providers and enterprises, for the high reliability of the point-to-point dedicated options, and the attractive service level agreements offered by carriers.  

"AT&T continues to dominate in SONET services, which was a $3.15 Billion industry in 2008," said Linda Stadtmueller, Senior Research Analyst, Frost & Sullivan. "AT&T has demonstrated an ability to adapt to changing customer needs, winning new customers and retaining existing customers in both the wholesale and retail segments through its innovative portfolio of SONET-based services."

AT&T's strong performance in SONET Services can be attributed to several factors, according to Frost & Sullivan:

• As a leader in Ethernet services, AT&T has been able to capitalize on its customers' interest in Ethernet services by offering a portfolio of Ethernet over SONET services.
• AT&T has extended its SONET portfolio with services such as Optical Mesh Service, which allows customers to reserve a number of ports and then move their long-haul SONET bandwidth around as needed.  
• AT&T introduced optical services at higher bandwidths to offer customers the levels of reliability afforded by a Private Line service at higher SONET speeds.  
• AT&T built on its strength in the Wholesale segment, as carriers move to higher bandwidth SONET services to handle greater traffic volumes due to consolidated or regionalized data centers and consolidated networks.  

AT&T SONET Services include optical fiber point-to-point and "self-healing" ring networks that provide flexibility to quickly add network capacity as needs increase. These services are designed with security and service continuity in mind to provide customers with reliable, consistent service.

The Frost & Sullivan Award for Market Share Leadership is presented to the company that has demonstrated excellence within its industry. The Award recognizes the company's leadership position within the industry in terms of revenues or units, as specified.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About Frost & Sullivan

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About AT&T

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. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest 3G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. AT&T offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries.  It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse(SM) and AT&T | DIRECTV(SM) brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T's Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations are known for their leadership in directory publishing and advertising sales. In 2009, AT&T again ranked No. 1 in the telecommunications industry on FORTUNE® magazine's list of the World's Most Admired Companies.

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SOURCE AT&T Inc.