DALLAS -- AT&T today launched its residential Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service, called AT&T CallVantage^SM Service, providing the residents of Texas a high-tech alternative for their personal communications needs.

Starting today, AT&T's CallVantage Service will begin setting the benchmarks for what the company believes will be the industry's most reliable and innovative broadband phone service in the country as it becomes generally available to consumers in the Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston metropolitan areas. The service will be expanded to serve the San Antonio metropolitan area over the next several weeks through a controlled introduction with additional markets in the state and the nation to follow early this summer.

Yesterday, the company also announced the local availability of AT&T CallVantage Service in parts of New Jersey.

"AT&T already provides traditional residential local service to more than 4 million households nationwide, but AT&T CallVantage Service marks the beginning of an exciting new era in telecommunications that gives customers another competitive choice," said Cathy Martine, AT&T senior vice president for Internet Telephony, Consumer Marketing and Sales. "AT&T will continue to lead the adoption of VoIP services by both businesses and consumers as it delivers the next generation of communications that our customers demand."

AT&T CallVantage Service requires a customer to have a high-speed Internet connection to the home. While most households have access to these broadband connections through their local cable or telephone company, only about one in five subscribe nationally. In Texas, broadband penetration runs close to this national average with higher pockets of penetration in some of its major metropolitan areas according to data from TNS Telecoms.

VoIP applications might just be the "value-add" that consumers are seeking to justify their investment in broadband, Martine said.

AT&T CallVantage Service is different than traditional phone services because it uses IP-based networks instead of traditional circuit-switched phone networks to make calls. That means AT&T CallVantage not only can offer customers typical features such as call waiting, three-way calling, and call forwarding -- all free of charge -- but far more advanced ones as well. Indeed, consumers will get unprecedented convenience and control with innovative features including:

• "Call Logs," which tracks incoming and outgoing calling with "click to dial" capability;
• "Do Not Disturb," which allows customers to receive calls only when they want, while letting emergency calls ring in;
• "Personal Conferencing," which enables users to set up a meeting with up to nine additional callers;
• "Locate Me," which enables home phones to find customers by ringing up to five phones all at once or one right after the other;
• "Voicemail with eFeatures," which allows customers to hear their messages from any phone or PC and forward the voicemail to anyone on the Web via e-mail.

All that is required for service is an easy-to-connect, plug-in telephone adapter (TA) provided by AT&T, and a broadband Internet connection and regular telephone supplied by the customer. It is simple to use and easy for consumers to install -- typically in 10 minutes.

AT&T CallVantage Service works with most any cable modem or digital subscriber line (DSL) broadband connection. The TA is compatible with most home computer networks and may be used in conjunction with various home network routers. And, the adapter can be used from almost any location where there is a telephone and a broadband connection. That gives customers the ability to take their telephone numbers with them wherever they travel.

To kick-start the AT&T CallVantage Service launch, AT&T will offer a special introductory rate of $19.99 a month for six months to those who subscribe by May 31, 2004.  This promotional rate includes a complete calling solution that provides unlimited local and long-distance domestic calling, including calls to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, discount rates for international calling, and a suite of advanced features that customers have never experienced before. AT&T CallVantage will cost $39.99 a month thereafter. The company plans to add many more advanced features over the next 12 months.

As a special incentive, the company will offer AT&T CallVantage customers one month of free service (maximum of 12 months) for each referral and sale made through its "Refer-a-Friend" program. 

The company's commitment is to expand AT&T CallVantage Service to 100 major markets by year's end as part of AT&T's growing strategic focus on IP-based communications services. The company expects to sign up 1 million business and consumer customers by year-end 2005.

"Imagine extending this set of features to your entire family and the connectedness that functionality will provide. With an IP-based service, imagination combined with software opens up enormous possibilities," Martine added.

AT&T CallVantage Service is an innovative service that promises to transform the way people communicate. A core concept to the service, built on AT&T Labs patented technology, is the ability to quickly introduce new features and capabilities to the platform.

"New technologies like VoIP in no way substitute for the important, pro-competitive local phone policies that are needed to be established by the Texas Public Utility Commission under the Federal Communication Commission's Triennial Review Order," said Tom Pelto, AT&T vice president of law and government affairs.

"Without question, VoIP is the future of telecommunications in this country, however, the Unbundled Network Elements Platform (UNE-P) is the present and remains the gold standard that has allowed some 1.8 million Texans to select a competitive local phone service provider. Voice is the killer application and UNE-P is the only way today to get it into the bundle.

"Healthy competition is the engine that will drive investment and innovation that leads us to the future," he said.  "Without UNE-P, you would not have seen the wave of innovation to introduce VoIP.  Without UNE-P, you will not see VoIP grow, nor will Texans experience the full array of attendant benefits and investment."

With the addition of AT&T CallVantage Service, AT&T offers consumers a broad range of communications services designed to meet almost any need and budget. AT&T's portfolio of offers includes everything from new and innovative services like broadband telephony to traditional bundled packages of classic local, long distance and Internet services.

The company plans to support the marketing of AT&T CallVantage Service with an extensive communications campaign that will include mass market advertising on television, radio and in print and through direct mail, viral marketing and online. Television and print advertising begins in Texas tomorrow. 

To learn more about AT&T CallVantage Service, consumers can visit http://www.att.com/CallVantage or call 1-866-816-3815 extension 64525.