PRNewswire - November 25, 2003

BEDMINSTER, N.J., Nov. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T today announced that it has been selected by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to provide toll-free telephone service in the United States and Canada for the Foundation's "46664: Give 1 minute of your life to AIDS" campaign. The number "46664" was Former President Mandela's prison number for over 18 years.

In its effort to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS, and to raise funds for the Nelson Mandela Foundation, 46664 has set up a donation line with recorded messages from an array of celebrities including Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Robert De Niro, Pink, Shakira and Britney Spears. The Foundation is asking callers to make a small, charitable donation plus register their concern about the spread of HIV/AIDS.

AT&T's Toll-Free Service, featuring its Integrated Voice Response (IVR) system, was chosen by the Nelson Mandela Foundation because it can handle up to 20,000 simultaneous donations in support of the event's expected peak calling volumes. The service provides a simple way for 46664 to collect donations for the Nelson Mandela Foundation to fight HIV/AIDS at a reasonable cost.

The awareness and fundraising campaign will be launched with a benefit concert on Saturday Nov. 29 at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa with top artists including Anastacia, Beyonce, Dave Stewart, Queen, Youssou N'Dour and Bono of U2. 46664 - The Concert is expected to reach a worldwide audience of 2 billion people in 166 countries and will be broadcast on MTV's Staying Alive and BBC's World Service on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day. A webcast of 46664 -- The Concert will also be available for viewing live on http://www.46664.com powered by Tiscali.

"AT&T reacted quickly to our request for service having the application up and running within two and a half weeks," said JF Cecillon and Jim Beach, Producers of 46664. "We will be relying on this service in the U.S. and Canada, two of the largest markets, to collect donations so urgently needed by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to continue the fight against HIV/AIDS." Calling volumes are expected to reach their peak during 46664 - The Concert in Cape Town and during MTV's rebroadcast.

"The AT&T network is one of the few networks in the world with the capability to handle the volume of calls we expect with a fundraising event of this size," said Marc Melloy, vice president - AT&T Global Sales. "We are proud to provide the Nelson Mandela Foundation with a solution that quickly met their needs and budget."

About AT&T

AT&T (http://www.att.com) is among the premier voice and data communications companies in the world, serving businesses, consumers, and government. The company runs one of the most sophisticated communications networks in the United States, backed by the research and development capabilities of AT&T Labs. A leading supplier of data, Internet and managed services for the public and private sectors, AT&T offers outsourcing and consulting to large businesses and government. The company is a market leader in local, long distance and Internet services, as well as transaction-based services like prepaid cards, collect calling and directory assistance. With approximately $37 billion of revenue, AT&T has about 40 million residential customers and 4 million business customers, who depend on AT&T for high-quality communications. AT&T has garnered several awards for outstanding performance and customer service.

About 46664 - Give one minute of your life to AIDS

Inspired by the vision & leadership of Nelson Mandela, the 46664 campaign was born to raise awareness of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as funds for South Africa with proceeds going to the Nelson Mandela Foundation. The aim is for this initiative to be the largest call to action for HIV/AIDS in history. 46664 - The Concert will air on MTV's Staying Alive as a 90-minute special globally on World AIDS Day, and it is being offered rights free, at no cost to all radio & TV broadcasters to a potential audience of more than 3 billion people. SABC will air 46664 - The Concert live, and Tiscali will webcast it to potentially the largest ever online audience. The European Broadcasting Union will distribute it to 52 countries, and the Asian Broadcasting Union will distribute it to 28 countries. BBC World Service will air the concert as a special radio broadcast to a potential audience of 152 million people globally. The goal is to make it the most widely distributed program on HIV/AIDS in history. More information about the concert is available at http://www.46664.com powered by Tiscali.

About the Nelson Mandela Foundation

The Foundation sees its role as a catalyst. It develops strategic alliances and partnerships to foster community engagement, community project-ownership and community benefit. It is not a traditional grant-making agency. Initiatives are guided by an advisory group with a diverse range of members: medics and media, HIV/AIDS victims and managers of programmes and projects. More information about the Nelson Mandela Foundation is available at http://www.nelsonmandela.org.

SOURCE AT&T

Web Site: http://www.att.com

http://www.46664.com

http://www.nelsonmandela.org

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