Southwestern Bell Launches Local Service In Plano, Irving With Sponsorship Of Balloon Festival
Former Astronaut Gene Cernan To Serve As Grand Marshal Of 1997 Southwestern Bell Plano Balloon Festival
Plano, Texas, September 17, 1997
The last man to walk on the moon will launch two major North Texas events this weekend - the 1997 Southwestern Bell Plano Balloon Festival and the company's local service launch in Plano and Irving bringing local telephone competition to area residents. Captain Eugene Cernan, who holds the distinction of being the second man to walk in space and the last man to have walked on the moon, will serve as grand marshal of the Southwestern Bell Plano Balloon Festival September 19-21 at Bob Woodruff Park.
Plano and Irving residential and business customers can sign up for local service at the Southwestern Bell hospitality tent at Bob Woodruff Park during the balloon festival. Southwestern Bell reached an agreement with GTE on interconnection issues in March allowing Southwestern Bell to provide service to customers within portions of GTE's North Texas coverage area. Southwestern Bell has invested millions of dollars constructing its state-of-the-art fiber optic network facilities which will provide Plano and Irving residents with local phone service.
Southwestern Bell will offer local residential telephone service for a monthly flat rate of $25 for the "Pick 3" package, which includes basic service and a choice of three of their favorite options such as Caller ID or Call Waiting, among others. Business customers can choose from a variety of product and service packages that suit their local service needs. The company already provides local service in small portions of the two communities as well as ubiquitous wireless and Internet services throughout North Texas.
"With more than 115 years of service and commitment to North Texas, Southwestern Bell is pleased to bring its reliable and dependable products and knowledgeable customer service to all Plano and Irving residents," said Tom Morgan, regional president, Southwestern Bell. "This marks another major step toward Southwestern Bell becoming a one-stop telecommunications provider in Texas."
For more information about Southwestern Bell local telephone service in Plano and Irving, customers may visit Southwestern Bell's hospitality tent at the balloon festival or call 1-888-BUY-SWB1 ext. 500 (1-888-289-7921).
Captain Cernan will be on-hand at Bob Woodruff Park prior to opening the 1997 Southwestern Bell Plano Balloon Festival at 4:45 p.m., Friday, September 19 to talk about the numerous accomplishments he made in NASA's astronaut program. Cernan left his mark on history during three historic missions in space as the Pilot of Gemini IX, the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo X and the Commander of Apollo XVII. This year is the 25th anniversary of Cernan's walk on the moon.
Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. provides basic and leading-edge telephone services and products to more than 13.5 million business and residential customers - a total of more than 15 million access lines - in Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas. It is a company of SBC Communications Inc., an international leader in the telecommunications industry, with more than 32 million access lines and nearly 5 million wireless customers across the United States, as well as investments in telecommunications businesses in nine countries. Under the Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell, Nevada Bell and Cellular One brands, the company, through its subsidiaries, offers a wide range of innovative services, including local and long-distance telephone service, wireless communications, paging, Internet access, cable TV and messaging, as well as telecommunications equipment, and directory advertising and publishing. SBC (www.sbc.com) has more than 118,000 employees. SBC reported 1996 revenues of $23.5 billion.
