AT&T's Networks Moving to Near Full Operation in Wake of Hurricane Gustav; Commercial Power Restoration Critical to Continuing Progress

Dallas, Texas, September 8, 2008

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today said the company's major restoration efforts in hard-hit Louisiana and Mississippi are making substantial progress in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav. The company notes that while restoration is progressing ahead of schedule in the hardest hit areas along the coast, commercial power is still extremely critical to the efforts to bring customers online going forward.

Service Restoration
More than 2,500 AT&T employees are working to expedite the restoration of communications services for impacted customers in Louisiana and Mississippi. The company's wireless and wireline networks continue to perform well even under increased wireless, voice and text messaging traffic. The company has completed its assessment of the damage to its networks and is focusing its efforts on restoring services in Louisiana in the areas of Baton Rouge, Houma and the Northshore and Coastal parishes around New Orleans as well as in impacted areas of Mississippi.

In Louisiana and Mississippi, as of 9 a.m.:

  • Nearly all of the company's wireless cell sites are operational. In the hardest hit areas of Baton Rouge and Greater New Orleans (including Plaquemines, Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes), AT&T teams are focused on providing backup power as needed to the few sites still impacted by the storm.
  • All central switching offices are operational, but power issues still exist in some areas of Louisiana, where 18 central offices remain on generator power.
  • Ninety-nine percent of remote terminals, which provide broadband service to neighborhoods throughout Louisiana, are operational. While many remote terminals are still operating on battery or generator power, AT&T technicians have restored almost 1,000 units to commercial power. All remote terminals in Mississippi are operational.
  • More than 1,500 portable generators have been deployed across Louisiana and Mississippi.
  • More than 130 of AT&T's retail store locations are open across the Gulf States. The few remaining stores affected by the storm will open as local conditions allow.

Lack of commercial power persists in many areas of Louisiana. AT&T estimates it is using 45,000 gallons of diesel fuel per day to operate generators that are powering wireless cell sites, central offices and remote terminals in the state.

There may continue to be some service outages in the hard-hit areas of the Gulf Coast, as residents and business owners return to their homes and businesses.

Moving Ahead After Hanna and Preparing for Ike
AT&T's networks performed extremely well related to the landfall of Tropical Storm Hanna over the weekend, and there are no major impacts to any of the company's services as a result of this storm.

AT&T is taking steps to prepare equipment and facilities for a potential strike by Hurricane Ike, which could threaten the Gulf Coast of the United States within the week. The company is identifying areas for the staging of equipment for post-storm response, testing high-capacity backup batteries and topping off fuel for generators positioned at cell sites and switching centers.

Support in Disaster Areas:
In addition to managing ongoing restoration efforts, AT&T has also taken steps to assure that its customers, relief agencies and government organizations are equipped with the means to communicate during this ongoing crisis. These efforts include:

  • Free AT&T Wi-FiSM at locations throughout areas of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas.
  • Providing 4,000 free wireless GoPhone devices with $15 in air time to residents who were ordered to evacuate their homes because of Hurricane Gustav.
  • Providing free phone calls for hurricane victims at all open company-owned retail locations across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and portions of northwest Florida, including Pensacola, Fort Walton and Destin.
  • In hard-hit Houma and Thibodaux, AT&T is offering free phone calls and phone charging to hurricane victims at two "Stores on Wheels" in these cities. These Mobile Store RVs are serving as temporary AT&T stores with fully functioning store capabilities.
  • Providing more than 1,000 AT&T wireless phones for use by American Red Cross personnel.
  • Providing more than 500 AT&T wireless phones and 130 AT&T LaptopConnect cards for use by Florida National Guard personnel.
  • Providing hundreds of AT&T wireless phones for Corps of Engineers in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.
  • Encouraging customers to send $5 donations to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund by sending a text message from their AT&T mobile devices. A customer simply types the keyword GIVE to 2HELP (24357). A confirmation message will arrive within a few minutes, and the customer then replies YES to confirm his or her donation.
  • Donating $200,000 this year, in addition to the generosity of its customers, to the American Red Cross for emergency relief as part of a five-year, $1 million commitment.
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