Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

Media Center

AT&T Communications customers need to choose new provider

COLUMBUS, Ohio – April 10, 2007 – The Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC), the residential utility consumer advocate, is alerting customers who receive local telephone service through AT&T Communications Inc. that they will need to choose a new provider or be switched to AT&T Ohio (formerly known as SBC).

AT&T Communications is an affiliate of AT&T Corp. and a competitor that offered local telephone service within the former SBC Ohio service area prior to the November 2005 merger of SBC Communications and AT&T Corp. Ohio regulation prohibits two affiliate companies from providing basic local telephone service in the same area. State regulators allowed AT&T Communications to continue serving customers in the former SBC Ohio area for two years after the merger. Customers who were with SBC prior to the merger are not affected.

“Consumers need to carefully read all the materials sent to them from AT&T Ohio in order to learn about the changes that they are faced with at this time,” said Janine Migden-Ostrander, Consumers’ Counsel. “The information in the letter will outline what options are available to consumers as well as the date by which a decision must be made.”

Those consumers affected by this change will receive a letter from AT&T Ohio sometime between March 26 and the end of June 2007. All consumers will have 60 days from the date of the letter to make one of three choices:

Switch to a new local telephone provider
Select a local plan provided by AT&T Ohio
Take no action and automatically be switched to an AT&T Ohio plan that closely matches the services and features a customer currently receives through AT&T Communications

AT&T Ohio outlines in the letter which plan AT&T Communications customers will be switched to based on their current plan.

The OCC offers information on available offers by local telephone service providers in the AT&T Ohio service area through “Comparing Your Local Telephone Choices.” This information also is available at www.pickocc.org through an interactive tool that allows consumers to evaluate different offers based on features or services they may wish to purchase.

Consumers may contact AT&T at 1-866-746-4717 and refer to program code BB with questions about plans available from AT&T Ohio or why this transition is occurring. Consumers also can contact the OCC toll free at 1-877-PICKOCC (1-877-742-5622) or at www.pickocc.org to receive more information on choosing a new telephone provider and what offers are available in their area.

About the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC), the residential utility consumer advocate, represents the interests of 4.5 million households in proceedings before state and federal regulators and in the courts. The state agency also educates consumers about electric, natural gas, telephone and water issues and resolves complaints from individuals. To receive utility information, brochures, schedule a presentation or file a utility complaint, residential consumers may call 1-877-PICKOCC (1-877-742-5622) toll free in Ohio or visit the OCC website at www.pickocc.org.