AT&T- News Room

AT&T Texas, Nortel and Tandberg Team Up with "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to Install State-Of-The-Art Communications Systems at Firehouse Damaged by Hurricane Rita

Houston, Texas, April 12, 2006

When ABC's reality series "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" selected the hurricane-damaged fire station of the southeast Texas coastal community of Sabine Pass for its trademark seven-day transformation, AT&T Texas and two of its technology partners, Nortel and TANDBERG, pitched in to deliver a state-of-the-art communications system for the rebuilt fire station.

Located 30 miles southeast of Beaumont, Texas, the Sabine Pass Fire Station No. 4 was severely damaged when Hurricane Rita made landfall just east of the town in September 2005. The fire station — which is administered by the Port Arthur fire department — has been out of operation for the past five months, forcing its firefighters to work out of a trailer at a local U.S. Coast Guard station.

After learning that the "Extreme Makeover" team was coming to Sabine Pass, AT&T Texas personnel contacted the builder and construction contractor to offer assistance. Those discussions led AT&T Texas, in turn, to reach out to Nortel and TANDBERG to collaborate in identifying the appropriate communications equipment and installation expertise needed for the fire station project.

AT&T Texas donated the overall coordination and project management time and network planning, design and installationexpertise of nearly 30 AT&T Texas employees during the weeklong shoot. The employees helped install phone equipment, the data network and video communications systems, participated in community support activities and coordinated installation activities with other suppliers that donated products and services for the project.

Nortel donated a Business Communications Manager 50E platform including a voice mail system, a dozen phone sets and a 24-port data switch for the fire department's local area network (LAN). TANDBERG provided a state-of-the-art video communications solution designed especially for emergency communications and firefighter training. The solution includes two desktop videophones and two room-based video systems with 50-inch plasma screens, along with the Internet Protocol (IP) network devices required to create a secure visual communications link between Sabine Pass Station and the main station at Port Arthur. The solution also includes a Tactical MXP Command Center, a mobile system that allows firefighters at emergency scenes to connect to the command center visually through integrated satellite capability.

"The whole Sabine Pass project can be summed up by only one word, 'awesome'," said Larry Richard, Port Arthur's fire chief. "It is unbelievable that we have the latest cutting-edge technology available to us — what a great honor. This project will allow Sabine Pass to take the first step toward recovery and rebuild the entire community."

Rebuilding the Sabine Pass fire station is one of two main projects of the fourth episode in the special "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - After The Storm" series. The Sabine Pass episode will air 7 p.m. CDT on Friday, April 14, on the ABC Television Network.

"We appreciate the opportunity to work with "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on this project as part of our company's continuing commitment to help the communities hit hard by last year's hurricanes," said Charles Rudnick, President - Business Communications Services, AT&T Southwest. "Delivering and installing the communications infrastructure for the fire station was a real team effort by AT&T Texas, Nortel and TANDBERG, with the assistance of literally dozens of our employees to help make it all happen."

About the New 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 more than 54 million wireless customers. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and AT&T products and services is available at www.TheNewATT.com.

About Nortel
Nortel is a recognized leader in delivering communications capabilities that enhance the human experience, ignite and power global commerce, and secure and protect the world's most critical information. Our next-generation technologies, for both service providers and enterprises, span access and core networks, support multimedia and business-critical applications, and help eliminate today's barriers to efficiency, speed and performance by simplifying networks and connecting people with information. Nortel does business in more than 150 countries. For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com. For the latest Nortel news, visit www.nortel.com/news.

About TANDBERG
TANDBERG is a leading global provider of visual communication products and services. The Company has dual headquarters in New York and Norway. TANDBERG designs, develops and markets systems and software for video, voice and data. The Company provides sales, support and value-added services in more than 90 countries worldwide. TANDBERG is publicly traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker TAA.OL. Please visit www.tandberg.net for more information. TANDBERG is a trademark or registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

About "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA.The series is executive-produced by Tom Forman. The show airs Sundays (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET), on the ABC Television Network.