AT&T Wins at NHS, Enlists ETSAT&T Wins at NHS, Enlists ETS

BEDMINSTER, N.J. -- AT&T announced today it has won a three-year, $3.6 million contract to provide Northwestern Human Services (NHS) a complete portfolio of local, long-distance and data services to its offices located throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. NHS is a leading provider of mental health care, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, foster care, juvenile justice and older adult services.

AT&T will integrate NHS' voice, data and Internet services -- previously handled by nearly two-dozen different providers -- with its industry-leading AT&T Business Network (ABN) offer. ABN makes it possible for NHS to consolidate all of its communications needs into a single contract, with a single bill and discounts across all services.

"My first goal as CIO was to consolidate NHS' technology services and create a complete, secure wide-area network," said NHS CIO Walt Gioscia. "AT&T was the clear choice to help me, offering the best technology at the best price while delivering a secure network that enhances productivity, improves service to patients and helps us comply with new HIPAA regulations on security of records. Superior service, one contract instead of over 200 contracts, and an extremely high return on investment made this an easy decision."

AT&T will provide local and long-distance voice services, managed data networking services and secure Internet access supporting NHS' 414 programs. NHS will enjoy a fully managed wide-area network featuring secure, high-speed Internet connectivity to 50 facilities, and dial-up capabilities for the rest.

"Though NHS' footprint is firmly rooted within Verizon's service territory, we obviously presented the most comprehensive and cost-effective solution to meet NHS' local phone service needs," said Steve Taylor, AT&T sales vice president. "In addition, we offered higher levels of network uptime and better service levels than NHS experienced with its previous providers."

The new communications infrastructure also offers NHS significant cost savings; the organization expects to save more then $1 million dollars over the next 12 months, while increasing its voice and data service usage.

"Cost savings have been a significant part of the plan to return NHS to sound financial footing," said NHS CEO M. Joseph Rocks, who has led a three-year financial turn-around and corporate restructuring. "To combine our turn-around strategies with our future technology plans is a win-win."

AT&T will provide NHS a secure, private wide-area network that solves former bandwidth issues and facilitates implementation of videoconferencing, e-learning and training. AT&T's solution enables online central records storage, e-billing, easier access to patient records and easier registration of new records.

AT&T Business Network also provides easy-to-use, Web-based servicing tools through a personalized, secure extranet. NHS will have online access to account and network performance data, including the status of orders and trouble tickets, account and billing information, call detail, facilities usage, service inventories and other critical data. NHS also can initiate moves, adds, and changes electronically -- online -- at virtually any time of day or night, and even review and pay service invoices electronically via AT&T BusinessDirect, the company's e-enablement platform.

In a separate release:

SYDNEY -- AT&T today announced that it has appointed Enterprise Technology Solutions (ETS) as its sales agent to serve the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market in Australia. The agreement enables ETS to market and sell AT&T services to the SME segment, which includes about 10,000 enterprises and accounts for over 60% of all businesses in Australia.

ETS will serve as one of AT&T's strategic sales channels to reach the disparate SME market, while AT&T will provide all service delivery, customer care and service support for these enterprises.

According to Brett Barningham, Director of Sales and Marketing of AT&T Australia, although AT&T's services have traditionally been designed for larger corporations, SMEs can also benefit greatly from AT&T's award-winning service portfolio.

"SMEs represent a significant part of the Australian economy and require a high level of commitment to be engaged effectively. With this in mind, AT&T has aligned its product offerings and go-to-market strategy to target this market segment by working with channel partners," Mr. Barningham said. "With the appointment of ETS as a local sales agency, we are delighted to offer our premium quality services to a much broader customer base throughout Australia.

"We are very careful in our selection of channel partners because they represent AT&T in serving our customers. We are excited to be working with ETS, as we are confident that their solid understanding and positioning in the SME market, coupled with their dedication and commitment will help to secure AT&T's position as a market leader in the networking space. Our world-class service offerings will more than meet the requirements of Australian SME's, while taking into account the unique challenges of the segment."

AT&T's comprehensive service portfolio includes solutions such as basic dial-up Internet access, managed IP virtual private networks, managed security, managed hosting, network connectivity and complete network outsourcing.

"This cooperation between ETS and AT&T is great news for Australian SMEs because it leverages the local knowledge and agility of ETS and combines it with AT&T's world-class service offerings, solid brand and ability to deploy and support customers," said Mr. Tony Parkin, Director of ETS. "ETS is thrilled to have the opportunity to expand our business by offering AT&T's reliable, high quality networking services that can genuinely benefit Australian SMEs."

With US$300 million investment in the AT&T Global Network and over US$200 million in the integrated Global Enterprise Management System (iGEMS) suite of network management tools in 2002, combined with the rollout of new enterprise networking services and capabilities, AT&T is reinforcing its position as an industry-leading networking company.

In 2003, AT&T is investing an additional US$700 million to significantly improve its customer experience. The company is rationalizing its business processes, focusing on simplifying contracts, slashing provisioning time, improving billing accuracy, and rolling out powerful electronic servicing capabilities. With these efforts, AT&T aims to offer its customers a globally consistent, high quality experience when doing business with AT&T across the world.

AT&T Corp.