DALLAS, Nov. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- [ AT&T ]* is taking more steps to make global communications and collaboration even easier and more pervasive with new [ AT&T Telepresence Solution ] service bundling options. These new choices give customers even more flexibility to meet "face-to-face" from a wider range of locations.

"Within the next few years, global telepresence exchanges that let enterprises reach across their networks will increase the impact of, and demand for, video conferencing solutions," said Brian Washburn, Current Analysis Research Director, Network Services. "AT&T's telepresence solutions allow organizations to connect networks and unlock a vast number of new meeting relationships."

In addition to the new service bundles, AT&T is making telepresence more accessible to businesses and organizations of all sizes with new features and scheduling capabilities that allow for greater connectivity and unification across disparate video conferencing systems.

New AT&T Telepresence Solution capabilities include:

New Service Bundles - AT&T now offers customers a wide range of Cisco video equipment options from immersive to desktop units (including former TANDBERG endpoints). The fully managed service bundle includes:
- AT&T owned equipment, management, proactive monitoring, maintenance and help desk bundled into one monthly service fee.
- AT&T design and implementation of telepresence and video conferencing equipment including hardware and software.
- Flexibility to connect to a wide variety of endpoint equipment and network types from a broad range of manufacturers, thereby getting more out of prior investments.
- Connection to the AT&T Business Exchange enabling users to connect internally with employees, and externally with customers and suppliers.
Intercompany Direct Dial - Enjoy point-to-point conferencing from one Cisco TelePresence® endpoint to another on the AT&T Business Exchange without needing to schedule a meeting in advance.
Guest Access - Schedule and attend telepresence meetings with companies that are not on the AT&T Business Exchange, over the Internet or traditional telephone network, opening an even more extended world of meeting options.
ActivePresence - Enhance the meeting experience by viewing all meeting attendees during a conference, regardless of the number of locations connected. The speaking participants appear full size on the screen while others appear as part of a panel view or "filmstrip" along the bottom of the screens. Participants switch into the full screen position automatically when they speak.
Scheduling Add-In - Schedule internal or external telepresence meetings, right from your Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes calendar. This enhancement unifies scheduling and is expected to be available before the end of 2011 for hosted deployments.
Value Case Tool - To help create a "Success Plan" to deploy these new capabilities AT&T has also recently updated its industry-specific Value Case Tool which helps customer define use cases, build design and TCO scenarios, determine break-even points, and project operational costs and business benefits.

Key Facts:

Industry leading companies are adopting telepresence: More than one third of the companies ranked in the Fortune 100 are connected to the AT&T Business Exchange.
The number of end-points continues to grow rapidly: Telepresence continues to see customer acceptance and continued growth from 1,281 meeting rooms in 2009 to more than 3,000 meeting rooms projected for 2011.
Millions of meeting minutes: AT&T customers held nearly 12 million minutes of meetings on immersive telepresence systems in the first three quarters of 2011.
Telepresence is going global: More than one third of the endpoints connected to the AT&T Business Exchange are outside the United States, and AT&T now supports over 75 countries with the expanded offerings.
AT&T adopts telepresence internally: AT&T intends to install more than 50 internal telepresence rooms in 2011, growing internal deployments to more than 190 rooms spanning more than 20 countries.
- Since 2008, AT&T has logged more than 83,400 telepresence meeting hours.
- Between January and September 2011, AT&T has realized almost $7.5 million in travel dollars saved and more than 4,400 metric tons of CO2 emissions averted.
- Using [ AT&T's Carbon Impact Assessment Tool ], organizations can easily calculate the estimated greenhouse gas emissions and cost savings of using telepresence to replace or reduce business travel and increase productivity and collaboration.

"From large, classroom-like settings to conference rooms to desktops to home offices, AT&T Telepresence Solution is helping our customers connect through face-to-face collaboration," said Shawn Conroy, vice president of Voice, Collaboration and [ Unified Communications ] Services, [ AT&T Business Solutions ]. "Expanding our popular service bundles to include conference room and desktop units is an important step in pursuing our vision of a pervasive telepresence experience where users can connect without borders from the device and at the time and place that's most convenient for them."

Learn more about the [ value of AT&T Telepresence Solution ] and how AT&T helps organizations measure the benefits.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this press release contains financial estimates and other forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results might differ materially. A discussion of factors that may affect future results is contained in AT&T's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AT&T disclaims any obligation to update and revise statements contained in this news release based on new information or otherwise.

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. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest mobile broadband network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile broadband and emerging 4G capabilities, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T | DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T Advertising Solutions and AT&T Interactive are known for their leadership in local search and advertising.

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 ]. This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at [ http://www.att.com/newsroom ] and as part of an RSS feed at [ www.att.com/rss ]. Or follow our news on Twitter at [ @ATT ].

© 2011 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. Mobile broadband not available in all areas. 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. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE AT&T Inc.

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AT&T Telepresence Solution Enhancements Make Collaboration Easier