AT&T Announces Third Annual CTIA Wireless Events to Encourage Development of Innovative Wireless Applications for Consumers and Businesses

SAN ANTONIO (Map) - SAN ANTONIO, March 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AT&T is expecting the biggest turnout ever at events it is hosting for the third consecutive year at the CTIA convention in Las Vegas, April 1 - 3. The three different events -- the Enterprise Developers Summit, Fast Pitch and Open Call -- encourage the creation of innovative wireless applications and help quickly get them into the hands of the company's more than 70 million wireless customers.

In a related development, AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) announced today it has unveiled a new Web site, http://www.att.com/choice, that helps wireless customers learn about and experience many of the choices available to them, including "bring your own device" options for consumers and businesses. The site also provides tools that help developers create new mobile applications and devices.

"The driving force of our business is our commitment to be open to innovation and to offer our customers more choices than any other wireless company," said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T's wireless unit. "That means choices in applications, choices in handsets, choices in operating systems, choices in how to shop and pay for service, plus much more. Today's announcements underscore that commitment. Maximum customer choice is what real openness is all about."

The CTIA Triple Play

Enterprise Developers Summit: On March 31 in Las Vegas, AT&T will conduct its annual summit for the corporate applications development community. In this meeting, AT&T representatives will meet with business customers, independent software and hardware vendors and others in the corporate development community to explore wireless issues and trends. These include, among others, strategies that corporate developers can use to create and optimize applications for the AT&T network. As in previous years, much time will be devoted to highly interactive sessions in which developers and AT&T can continue their dialogue on the most effective ways to work together.

Fast Pitch: AT&T has accepted more than 125 registrations -- a full house -- for an event open to developers of consumer applications who attend the CTIA convention. Attendees will discuss their ideas for new and exciting wireless applications. Representatives from a leading industrial design company, a venture capital firm, a major wireless handset manufacturer and AT&T will participate in those discussions, which will take place April 1 and 2. This is the third consecutive year for the Fast Pitch program, which is like a high-tech version of "American Idol."

For the first time at Fast Pitch, AT&T will provide $70,000 in cash and other prizes to the developers of the best applications. Winning applications could be made available for download in the AT&T Media Mall, placed on AT&T's MEdia(TM) Net Web portal, optimized for easy access and searchable on the MEdiaNet index, or featured in key promotions to AT&T's enterprise and small business channels. AT&T's customers have long enjoyed the freedom to choose applications from AT&T or from the Web to make the most of their wireless experience. Programs like Fast Pitch help ensure that customers have the best applications at their fingertips.

Open Call: For the first time, developers who did not register for Fast Pitch will have an opportunity to demonstrate their applications. On a first-come, first-served basis, any developer can present his or her application in Open Call sessions April 3 at CTIA.

The Fast Pitch program in particular has helped AT&T find unique and innovative applications, including Ascendo Fitness (http://www.ascendo-inc.com), My Local TV News Over Wireless (http://www.newsoverwireless.com), and Mobile Comic Books by uclick (http://www.uclick.com). These and many other applications can be found on the AT&T MEdia Mall.

"Fast Pitch was a tremendous opportunity for us," said Mike Merrill, CEO of Smartphones Technologies Inc., which was a participant in the program in 2006 and now has a suite of services on AT&T consumer wireless properties. "AT&T was great to work with and really helped us get great visibility for our products."

In 2002, AT&T became the first major wireless carrier to create a developer-relations program, which is called devCentral.

In a competitive analysis of the developer-relations programs of major wireless carriers and device manufacturers published last year by Evans Data Corp., AT&T ranked first among carriers in its ability to help wireless developers successfully commercialize their applications from concept to certification to generating revenue.

The study, which also ranked AT&T first among wireless carriers for the quality of its developers program, said that "(AT&T's developer) partnering options are amongst the most well-defined among the companies reviewed here. Developers are given several options to market their applications, through (AT&T's) own marketplace and through external resources like Cellmania and Handango."

"AT&T is the developer-relations program leader among major wireless carriers," said John Andrews, president and CEO of Evans Data. "The company has one of the most robust developer-relations programs in the industry."

It's All Here: New Web Site for Customers and Developers

The new Web site AT&T unveiled today, http://www.att.com/choice, brings together -- for the first time -- detailed, easy-to-navigate information on the extensive choices that AT&T offers to consumers and businesses in handsets, applications and much more. It also features innovative, industry-leading resources for developers of wireless applications.

Residential and Business Customers

The site http://www.att.com/choice gives wireless customers information and resources so that they can learn about and experience all the choices available to them:

    1 An Inventory of Applications -- The site highlights the most popular
      applications and third-party content sites offered on AT&T's properties,
      including the company's mobile portal, content store and online catalog.
      AT&T's wireless customers can choose from hundreds of thousands of
      applications and other digital content.
    2 A Catalog of Devices -- Customers also have access to a wide array of
      devices, and http://www.att.com/choice lets them easily look for and buy
      the right handset for their needs.
    3 "Bring Your Own Device" Options for Consumers and Businesses -- The new
      Web site tells consumers about the option of using their own compatible
      GSM wireless device on the AT&T network, including the need to purchase
      a SIM (subscriber identity module, which is the small electronic strip
      that is slipped into the phone, usually near the battery). Customers are
      not required to enter into a term agreement for this option, nor does
      the device require AT&T certification. For important applications needed
      by business customers, AT&T offers the largest and most comprehensive
      selection of special-purpose devices in the industry; 285 different
      devices are certified today, with more in the queue. These devices
      include rugged hand-held devices and laptops, automatic
      vehicle- location devices and point-of-sale solutions. Like consumers,
      business customers are not required to use devices that have been
      certified by AT&T. However, the company encourages customers to take
      advantage of its network-ready device certification program, which has
      been offered since 2003. Certification of business customers' devices
      helps to ensure a better wireless experience and better technical
      support.

Developers

To broaden awareness among mobile applications developers -- small, large and in between -- http://www.att.com/choice highlights improved and expanded technical and marketing information. This information can be found within the new Web site at developer.att.com.

A key resource on the new Web site is the 2008 version of the Wireless Reference Architecture guide, one of the most comprehensive resources in the industry to help developers create wireless applications for businesses. The guide, which can be found at developer.att.com/wra, includes a wealth of information on all aspects of wireless technology, from operating systems to application life-cycle management. Among the guide's resources is a chapter on the technical specs of the wireless devices that AT&T offers.

"AT&T's 2008 version of the Wireless Reference Architecture guide clearly provides a road map for any business using wireless solutions," said Rick May, managing director of Rapid ID. "Our business, solely dependent on wireless communications, is projected to increase in 2008 with the assistance of devCentral -- which has been instrumental in my company's success -- and continue to grow in 2009 as AT&T further develops its solution."

In addition to the Wireless Reference Architecture guide, http://www.att.com/choice also includes a variety of other resources to help any interested developer, including ways to market applications for maximum visibility. Thousands of software developers have already created applications for the AT&T wireless network.

To encourage the development of innovative new devices, AT&T recently made its Universal Design specifications available for the first time. The guidelines help third parties design products and applications that are usable by the largest number of consumers possible, especially seniors or those who have disabilities.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) 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.

(C) 2008 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies.

This AT&T news release and other announcements are available as part of an RSS feed at http://www.att.com/rss. For more information, please review this announcement in the AT&T newsroom at http://www.att.com/newsroom.

SOURCE AT&T Inc.