WHO GETS THE CALL? PARENTS AND SIBLINGS WIN, IN-LAWS LOSE, AT&T SURVEY SHOWS.

BASKING RIDGE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--August 23, 1995-- Birthdays, parents, siblings and singles stand out in a recent AT&T survey on consumer calling habits, which also indicated that "just to keep in touch" is one of the top reasons for calling.

Birthdays were among the most popular special occasions for calling relatives and friends. Eight out of ten surveyed said they call relatives on birthdays, and half call friends. Parents and siblings are most likely to receive birthday calls. Six out of ten call parents or siblings, but less than five in one hundred call their in-laws.

Single people stand out in their use of the phone for keeping in touch. Three in ten singles say they spend more personal time on the phone than watching television, compared with one in five in the general population. And singles are nearly twice as likely as married people to spend more time phoning than watching T.V.

Singles are almost twice as likely as the general population to call friends rather than relatives most often (63 percent of singles vs. 33 percent of the general population). And they're more likely to call for a friend's significant occasion, such as a birthday or anniversary, than the general population (73 percent of singles vs. 52 of the general population).

Singles are also more likely to call grandparents (26 percent vs. 10 percent) and aunts and uncles (22 percent vs. nine percent) than the general population on birthdays and anniversaries.

According to Tapas Sen, an AT&T psychologist, friends play a vital role for today's singles. "In a fragmented society, singles tend to be more isolated than many other groups," said Sen. "As a result, they feel a need to communicate more with others who share their circumstances, with other singles. They are more likely to turn to members of their own group for solace and understanding."

Sidebar:

TEN TELEPHONE TRENDS

Using the telephone to keep in touch is a trend that just keeps growing. Since the start of the `90s, long-distance and local toll calling alone have climbed 65 percent, according to AT&T. In fact, people now make more than 190 million calls on the AT&T network on an average weekday. And AT&T expects its customers to make more than five billion calls this August, which, despite summer vacations, is typically the busiest month for calling.

When do people call and how long do they talk? AT&T finds that:

More calls are placed in August than any other month. (Seven of ten people surveyed said December, which is the actually the busiest month for consumer calls.)

The fewest calls are placed in February.

More calls are placed on Monday than any other day of the week.

The fewest calls are made on Sunday.

Busiest day of the year for calling: Monday after Thanksgiving. (Mother's Day is the busiest holiday.)

Slowest day of the year for calling: Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. (Fourth of July is also one of the slowest days.)

Busiest time of day for business calling: 11:00 a.m. to noon Eastern time

Busiest time of day for consumer calling: 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time

The average consumer call lasts about eight minutes. Business calls are less than half that long.

Average consumer's monthly long-distance bill: $18.

CONTACT: Dan Lawler

908-221-2159 (office)

908-537-6048 (home)

or

Cindy Neale

908-221-8182 (office)

201-377-8446 (home)