AT&T CEO Ed Whitacre to Deliver Keynote Address at Inaugural TelecomNEXT Event; Whitacre Keynote to Address Key Technology Trends, Developing Opportunities for the Communications Industry.

WASHINGTON -- AT&T Support of TelecomNEXT Also Includes Large-Scale Demonstration of Network Disaster Recovery Tractor-Trailers on Exhibition Floor

TelecomNEXT and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) today announced that AT&T Chairman and CEO Edward E. Whitacre will deliver an opening keynote address at the inaugural TelecomNEXT event on March 21.

Whitacre, who in 2005 guided the historic merger of SBC Communications Inc. and AT&T Corp. to create the new AT&T Inc., will provide TelecomNEXT attendees with insight into the technological and strategic changes that are reshaping the communications industry, including the convergence of applications over IP, the integration of wireline and wireless networks and the rapidly developing competitive market for "quadruple play" services, including wireless and wireline communications, broadband access and entertainment.

Since he was appointed chairman and chief executive officer of SBC Communications Inc. in 1990, Whitacre has guided the company through a dramatic period of growth and industry change, as the company that started as the smallest of the "Baby Bells" grew into one of the world's largest providers of communications and networking services. Whitacre's vision for growth and development resulted in a series of investments, mergers and acquisitions that has reshaped the telecommunications landscape.

Today, the new AT&T is the largest U.S. provider of telecommunications services and one of the largest in the world. The company delivers global IP-based network capabilities, assets and resources that are widely regarded as unsurpassed in the marketplace, uniquely positioning the company to lead the industry's evolution toward converged, IP-based services.

Fortune magazine recently named AT&T Inc. as the World's and America's Most Admired Telecommunications Company, honors it has received more than any other telecom company since the rankings were first published.

"TelecomNEXT is quickly emerging as a premier gathering of leaders and visionaries in the telecommunications industry," Whitacre said. "I look forward to sharing my views and hearing what others have to say about the future of the industry and the opportunities ahead."

Whitacre's keynote will kick off a substantial AT&T presence at TelecomNEXT. AT&T will also showcase its widely respected Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) capability by parking specially equipped tractor-trailers on the TelecomNEXT exhibit floor March 21 - 22 to demonstrate the company's ability to quickly restore services to its business and government customers if a disaster damages parts of the network.

AT&T maintains the only mobile, full-readiness NDR team in the industry and has invested more than $300 million to develop and maintain the critical capability. The team and equipment enable recovery of data and switched facilities in the U.S. and AGN nodes in the AT&T global network, with response times often measured in hours.

In addition to supporting AT&T's network, the NDR team uses its mobile satellite capabilities to provide communications support for humanitarian relief efforts. Since 1990, the NDR team has been activated 21 times in response to disasters, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that devastated the Gulf Coast last year, the wildfires in San Diego in 2003 and the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York City's World Trade Center. More information on the company's NDR program is available at www.att.com/ndr.

The large AT&T exhibition will complement an unparalleled and expanded TelecomNEXT exhibit floor, where attendees will experience the latest, cutting-edge technologies and entertainment and content solutions for the integrated communications marketplace. TelecomNEXT, the only place where the business and technology of communications and entertainment meet, replaces Supercomm(R) as USTelecom's annual industry show.

Whitacre joins an exclusive group of industry executives delivering keynote addresses at TelecomNEXT. The luminaries include: Duane Ackerman, Chairman and CEO, BellSouth; Robbie Bach, President, Entertainment and Devices Division, Microsoft; Harald Braun, President, Carrier Networks Division, Siemens; Glenn Britt, President and CEO, Time Warner Cable; John Chambers, President and CEO, Cisco; Scott Ford, President and CEO, Alltel; Jonathan Glickman, President, Spyglass Entertainment Group; Dan Hesse, President and CEO designee, EMBARQ; Robert Iger, President and CEO, The Walt Disney Company; Scott Kriens, Chairman and CEO, Juniper Networks; FCC Chairman Kevin Martin; John Meyer, President, Lucent Worldwide Services, Lucent Technologies; Balan Nair, Chief Technology Officer, Qwest; Mike Quigley, President and COO, Alcatel; Chris Rice, Executive Vice President, Network Planning and Engineering, AT&T; Ivan Seidenberg, Chairman and CEO, Verizon; Stan Sigman, President and CEO, Cingular; Bill Smith, Chief Technology Officer, BellSouth; Norio Wada, President and CEO, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone; and Mark Wegleitner, SVP Technology and Chief Technology Officer, Verizon.

TelecomNEXT will be held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 19 - 23, 2006. The exhibit floor will be open Tuesday, March 21 and Wednesday, March 22. For more information on TelecomNEXT, go to www.telecom-next.com.

SUPERCOMM(R) is a registered trademark of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and the United States Telecom Association (USTelecom). The final SUPERCOMM(R) was held in 2005.

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.

(C) 2006 AT&T Knowledge Ventures. All rights reserved. Subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. provide products and services under the AT&T brand.