AT&T Rolls Out Free Directory Assistance Service in California

SAN ANTONIO, July 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AT&T Inc. has announced the launch of a new directory assistance service available immediately throughout California. The service, AT&T 1-800-YellowPages, gives consumers free access to business listings while providing advertisers the opportunity to reach buyers at a critical moment in their purchasing decisions.

Through the service, callers who dial 1-800-YellowPages (1-800-935-5697) from California area codes are able to receive a listing for a specific business or listings for a type or category of business at no cost. Callers will hear short audio ads before receiving the number or, when available, before being connected directly to the business that they select. The service is accessible from landline and wireless phones of any type.

"AT&T 1-800-YellowPages works like an audio Yellow Pages to give callers free access to local and nationwide business listing information from any phone, 24/7," said David S. Huntley, senior vice president of AT&T Customer Information Services. "We received positive feedback about 1-800-YellowPages during our recent market trial and are excited about expanding this service to California residents. For area businesses, we're helping them reach potential customers who are in need of a service and are ready to make a purchasing decision."

The launch of AT&T 1-800-YellowPages throughout California follows a successful three-city trial in Bakersfield, Calif.; Columbus, Ohio; and Oklahoma City, Okla. During the trial, caller response was overwhelmingly favorable, and one focus group study participant expressed his desire to e-mail the free number to 125 of his coworkers. The participant stated that the reliability of AT&T was a key reason.

The service gives local and national advertisers several options for reaching consumers:

-- Category/Redirect Ad. When a caller asks for a specific category or type of business, "florist," for example, ads will be played for businesses within that industry. This feature gives advertisers the chance to persuade callers who do not have a specific company in mind to select their business. Or, when a caller requests a listing for a specific business, an ad for a competitor in that category may play, provided that the originally requested business is not a participating advertiser. The consumer selects which listing to receive. -- Requested Listing Ad. When a caller requests a listing for a specific business, an ad for that business is played before the number is given. This provides businesses an opportunity to promote specific offers and services. -- Sponsorship Ad. This feature announces to the caller that the advertiser's company is sponsoring the call and plays an ad that promotes the advertiser's products or services. Advertisers may use this type of ad to encourage a call to their own business at a later time.

AT&T 1-800-YellowPages bolsters AT&T's industry-leading portfolio of services that provide local and nationwide business information to consumers and advertising solutions to national and small businesses. In addition to offering a premier, caller-paid directory assistance service, AT&T owns the world's largest print Yellow Pages publisher in terms of revenue, and publishes more than 1,250 print Yellow Pages books that are referenced more than 4 billion times annually. Additionally, AT&T's YELLOWPAGES.COM Network received more than 1 billion local searches in 2006.

Local and national businesses interested in advertising can call 800-411-9675. Additional information is available at http://www.att.com/1800yellowpages.

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About AT&T

AT&T Inc. is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. Among their offerings are the world's most advanced IP-based business communications services and the nation's leading wireless, high speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic markets, AT&T is known for the directory publishing and advertising sales leadership of its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations, and the AT&T brand is licensed to innovators in such fields as communications equipment. As part of its three-screen integration strategy, AT&T is expanding its TV entertainment offerings. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com/.

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