Consumers Can Help Save a Tree and a Stamp Through New SBC Communications Electronic Bill Initiative.

SAN ANTONIO -- Program to Seed Donations to the National Arbor Day Foundation; Contribution Grows by $1 for Every New MySBC eBill(SM) Service Subscriber

Consumers and small-business customers who switch from traditional paper phone bills to MySBC eBill(SM) service will help raise awareness of -- and money for -- The National Arbor Day Foundation and its mission of conservation, environmental renewal and beautification through tree planting.

The average American consumed the equivalent of seven trees last year through the use of paper, wood and other products made from trees. This year, SBC companies hope to prune that number by encouraging both small-business (with 35 or fewer lines) and residential customers to stop their paper bill by registering for a MySBC eBill account.

In exchange for each new MySBC eBill activation and the cancellation of the SBC paper bill, SBC Services Inc. will contribute $1 to The National Arbor Day Foundation. The program is effective today through March 31, 2006. SBC residential and small-business customers can participate in the campaign and register for the free SBC online billing service through www.sbc.com/arbordaytree.

"We applaud the efforts of SBC companies to provide alternative services for customers that help to reduce waste and support the conservation effort," said John Rosenow, president, The National Arbor Day Foundation. "This donation will enable our organization to continue to provide communities throughout the U.S. with trees to renew the landscape and our valuable resources."

In addition to the donation, current and new MySBC eBill customers who stop their paper bills will be eligible for a number of sweepstakes prizes, provided by The National Arbor Day Foundation, to be awarded throughout the promotion, ending, ultimately, with the Grand Prize drawing for a 2006 Toyota Prius hybrid car on April 10, 2006. Quarterly prizes to be awarded Oct. 10, 2005, Jan. 10, 2006, and April 10, 2006 include:

--All-inclusive trips for four, including airfare, rental car, lodging and $200 meal allowance for four days/three nights. The trips will be to the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, Neb.; Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, N.Y.; Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C.; Yellowstone National Park in Wyo.; Savannah, Ga.; and Sequoia National Park in Calif.

--Ten $100-dollar gift cards from the Home Depot.

Founded in 1972, The National Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit organization established to help people plant and care for trees. It is the largest volunteer tree-planting organization in the country, encouraging people to plant millions of trees through the Foundation's Trees for America(R) program. The organization also supports education and awards programs that encourage businesses and individuals to institute efforts in their communities. The Foundation plans to use the SBC donation to fund tree-planting activities in cities and wildland areas throughout the country.

"SBC companies have a long tradition of supporting important causes in the communities we serve. Each year, SBC residential and business customers help us to save over 700 trees just by using SBC online services, like MySBC eBill," said Maggie Weaklend, executive director, SBC Services. "We all have something to gain by conserving this country's resources and renewing our communities and neighborhoods by planting trees. Through this promotion, we hope to help our customers to do even more."

MySBC eBill is a convenient and free online billing service offered by SBC Online Services. It saves customers time by providing a quick, easy, and secure way to review and pay bills and to track account and billing history.

Customers can manage any services that are combined on their MySBC eBill, including SBC local, SBC long distance and SBC Yahoo! DSL services. The simple payment process means no need for stamps or checks or trips to the post office. Also, MySBC eBill is accessible from any Internet connection by using a unique user ID and password, giving customers the option of paying their bills anytime, from anywhere.

In addition to viewing and paying their SBC bill online, MySBC eBill provides customers with enhanced services, such as:

--Analyze the Bill. Customers can sort and organize the bill by numbers called, length of call, place, date or cost. This feature helps families and small businesses analyze their calling habits.

--Reverse Number Look-Up. Check on unrecognized phone numbers by clicking on a number in question, and view the name and contact information of the person dialed. (This service is not available for unlisted names.)

--Archives. MySBC eBill archives up to six months of billing history for customers who stop their paper bills. The past billing history can be saved electronically or printed for records.

--Payment Options. Customers decide if and when monthly payments are made from checking or savings accounts or credit card by using Pay Now feature. MySBC eBill also offers the convenience of automatic payment, which sets up an automatic payment from a savings or checking account or credit card each month. Customers may also choose to use their own online banking service or a third-party bill consolidator.

--Security. Using MySBC eBill can help protect against fraud such as identity theft by eliminating the delivery of paper bills to unsecured mailboxes. The service requires user names and passwords in order to access sensitive data, and it uses industry- standard encryption methods (Secure Sockets Layer technology) to protect customer-data transmission.

SBC customers can visit www.sbc.com/arbordaytree for more information on the program and sweepstakes and to register for a MySBC account. Sign up now through March 31, 2006, and SBC Services will donate $1 to The National Arbor Day Foundation for each new subscriber who stops his or her paper bill to support conservation and tree planting throughout the U.S.

The National Arbor Day Foundation

The National Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit education organization that inspires people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. Additional information on the Foundation and its programs is available by calling 402-474-5655 or by visiting the Foundation's web site, arborday.org.

About SBC

SBC Communications Inc. is a Fortune 50 company whose subsidiaries, operating under the SBC brand, provide a full range of voice, data, networking, e-business, directory publishing and advertising, and related services to businesses, consumers and other telecommunications providers. SBC holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless(R), which serves 50.4 million wireless customers. SBC companies provide high-speed DSL Internet access lines to more American consumers than any other provider and are among the nation's leading providers of Internet services. SBC companies also offer satellite TV service. Additional information about SBC and SBC products and services is available at www.sbc.com.

SBC is a registered trademark of SBC Knowledge Ventures, L.P. (C) 2005 SBC Knowledge Ventures, L.P. All rights reserved.