AT&T has expanded the reach of its OPT-E-MAN^® switched metro Ethernet services to include all 13 states in the former SBC territory.

The expanded coverage area now means that businesses throughout the 13 state territory that have access to broadband connections can link multiple locations using the industry's most reliable and award-winning switched metro Ethernet service. The expanded service area extends the reach of OPT-E-MAN service in AT&T's serving territory in California, Nevada, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Connecticut.

Business customers outside this region can take advantage of other AT&T Ethernet services to establish secure broadband connections to the Internet, or for point-to-point private line connections across the country or around the world.

"AT&T's OPT-E-MAN expansion of last year was so successful that customers were quick to realize the benefits of switched metro Ethernet, and they have been asking us to provide OPT-E-MAN solutions on a wider scale," said Sanford Brown, vice president — AT&T Connectivity Services. "We are pleased that our expanded Ethernet footprint will allow us to deliver this economical solution for increased bandwidth that will enable more businesses to converge their voice, video, and data applications over a single wide area network or virtual private network infrastructure."

In 2006, AT&T expanded its OPT-E-MAN footprint from 19 metropolitan areas to 41. Today's announcement builds on that industry-leading local footprint to give more customers even greater Ethernet choices and flexibility.

AT&T OPT-E-MAN service is a fully managed, switched Ethernet service that provides customers with a highly efficient solution for creating broadband links across multiple locations either across town or across a state. For example, staff at a company's headquarters location can use OPT-E-MAN service to connect with remote sites to share information across employees, customers and suppliers, or other users. Schools can use OPT-E-MAN service to link campuses to provide bandwidth for distance learning, administration needs, and well as traditional Internet and e-mail.

OPT-E-MAN service can be configured in a variety of ways, including point to point, point to multipoint and multipoint to multipoint. The service is scalable from 5 Mbps to 1 Gbps, giving businesses the flexibility to choose the exact configuration and bandwidth to suit their current needs, as well as the ability to change as their needs change. Designed for broadband connections across a local area, OPT-E-MAN service also can be a simple and economical high-bandwidth solution for state-to-state links when connected to a company's virtual private network.

AT&T is the leading provider of Metropolitan Area Network optical solutions for business customers. In 2006, the company was recognized by the industry's top research firms as offering the broadest Ethernet portfolio, including winning the Frost & Sullivan Customer Value Enhancement Award for Ethernet Services, the Best-in-Class Award for Business Metro SONET Products from ATLANTIC-ACM, and the Ethernet Product Portfolio Award from Heavy Reading. Additionally, OPT-E-MAN service has received Metro Ethernet Foundation and Cisco QoS Certifications.