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AT&T Wins $12 Million Contract from Advance Auto Parts

5 May 1999

AT&T Wins $12 Million Contract from Advance Auto Parts for High-Speed Data Service

    ROANOKE, Va., May 5 -- Advance Auto Parts, a leading
auto-parts retailer, has awarded AT&T a three-year, $12 million contract to
provide frame relay, a high-speed digital data service, at hundreds of
locations nationwide.
    The AT&T service will help Advance Auto Parts manage its growing traffic
of sales and inventory data, as well as company intranet information.  More
than 500 of the company's Parts America retail stores are part of the initial
frame-relay installation, while several hundred additional outlets will
migrate to the service over time.
    "Given our changing company infrastructure, we needed a more flexible
transmission capability to meet our current and future communications needs,"
said David Henley, Director-Telecommunications, Advance Auto Parts.  "Based on
exhaustive analysis, we decided frame relay was the best option for us.  And,
when we compared technology and price, AT&T had the best overall solution."
    AT&T Frame Relay Service helps customers reduce their internet working
costs, and maintains objectives of 99.99 percent packet delivery and
99.99 percent network availability.  AT&T's high-speed data services are
supported by worldwide, dedicated Network Operations Centers -- staffed with
trained technical professionals who manage the services 24 hours a day, seven
days a week.  The centers also support the turn-up, testing and maintenance of
customer networks.
    "In the Networked Economy, data networking allows companies to extend
their reach and better serve their customers," said Ken Sichau, president,
AT&T Growth Markets.  "At AT&T, our goal is to help customers such as Advance
Auto Parts to grow their business through the power of data and Internet
Protocol services."
    AT&T (http://www.att.com) is the world's premier provider of voice and
data communications, with more than 80 million customers, including
businesses, government and consumers.  AT&T runs the world's largest, most
powerful long-distance network and the largest wireless network in North
America.  The company offers private line, frame relay, ISDN, ATM and IP
services to more than 160 countries.  AT&T also provides local telephone
service to a growing number of businesses.