SBC Communications Unveils U-verse Experience at International Consumer Electronics Show.

LAS VEGAS -- SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC):

New brand for next-generation IP-based video, data and voice services

             No. 1 among DSL providers, company surpasses
                    5 million subscriber-line mark

               Note: Chairman Whitacre's speech will be
                    rebroadcast at www.sbc.com/ces

In an "Industry Insiders" address today at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) Chairman and CEO Edward E. Whitacre Jr. announced that SBC U-verse(sm) will be the brand for its suite of IP-based (Internet protocol) products and services set to launch in 2005, including integrated next-generation television, super high-speed Internet access and Voice over IP services.

"The U-verse experience perfectly describes what this new set of services is all about," said Whitacre. "It's about ensuring that the entire universe of communications and entertainment services works for and around you.

"To deliver the U-verse experience, we will harness the power and the promise of technology to provide simple, reliable and complete communications and entertainment services by fully and seamlessly integrating networks, services, and equipment," Whitacre said. "This new service captures the universe of choices and options available to consumers ... and it puts you at the center."

At the heart of the U-verse portfolio is Project Lightspeed, the company's previously announced approximately $4 billion initiative to deploy fiber to 18 million households across 13 states by the end of 2007. Through Project Lightspeed, SBC companies plan to deliver integrated IP-based video, voice, wireless and data services, providing a communications and entertainment experience not previously realized in the mass market.

Widespread availability of broadband is a key element in making convergence a reality. Whitacre said that consumer broadband adoption levels are reaching critical mass and announced that at the end of 2004, the company reached a significant milestone of surpassing 5 million DSL lines in service -- the first company in the country to do so. Additional details will be provided in the SBC fourth-quarter 2004 earnings release, scheduled for Jan. 26, 2005.

Earlier this week, SBC companies announced the formation of a joint venture with 2Wire Inc. to deliver a home entertainment service that integrates satellite TV programming, digital video recording, video on demand and Internet content, including Yahoo!(R) Photos and music via an award-winning new set-top box -- and ties them all together with the familiar and intuitive SBC Yahoo! user interface.

Other services in the U-verse suite include Unified Communications, which combines wireline and wireless voice mail, e-mail and faxes into one mailbox. The service is available today but will continue to be enhanced in the coming months. Also, the U-verse family of services will include a consumer-based VoIP service that the company plans to unveil in first-quarter 2005.

Specific U-verse product names will be announced later in the year as the products are made available to consumers.

"This is the year when excitement and dependability finally get on the same page -- when connections and electronics finally come together to provide the convergence that our industry has been promising and our customers have been expecting," Whitacre said.

At the Consumer Electronics Show, the company is showcasing U-verse products and services in real-world settings such as living rooms, bedrooms, a home office, a gaming station, coffee bar and golfing green. The technology demonstrations bring to life the anywhere, anytime access to personalized entertainment and communications provided by U-verse products and services. The SBC meeting room is located at Room N223 of the Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall Meeting Rooms.

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, which serves more than 46 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 now offer satellite TV service. Additional information about SBC and SBC products and services is available at www.sbc.com.