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Tab 1, Retail Customer Statements
DOJ-CUSTLTRS-000062 through -0239
REDACTED
REDACTED - FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION
Mission Federal Credit Union - Gary Devan
- I am Gary M. Devan, the Senior Vice President for Enterprise Information
Management for Mission Federal Credit Union. I am responsible for
Mission Federal's networking and telecommunications decisions, including
data and voice channels. I have been in this position for 12 years.
- Mission Federal is a not-for-profit, member-owned, federally-chartered
credit union located in San Diego County. We serve more than 130,000
member-owners in the San Diego community. We have 24 branches, in
addition to a headquarters office and an operations center.
- I am very much in favor of the proposed merger between SBC and AT&T.
Prior to 2004, we used both companies for our telecommunications services,
with AT&T providing long distance voice and SBC providing local
services in addition to our metropolitan area data network. In 2004,
AT&T showed little interest in keeping our business, which prompted
our decision to move to SBC for those services. I believe this merger
will create a broader and stronger network and allow us to gain advantages
over our previous relationship with both companies, particularly with
broadband long distance. Although we are presently located only in
San Diego, we see on the horizon the possibility that we will expand
our services outside of the San Diego region. We are increasingly
finding it difficult to find cost-effective labor within San Diego,
and thus we will potentially open up call-centers outside of San Diego
County. The alignment of SBC and AT&T will give us more security
in our ability to expand geographically in a seamless and cost-effective
manner.
STATEMENT OF DARYL WOODARD
(WOODARD TECH & INVESTMENTS LLC)
- I am President of SageNet, an Oklahoma-based company providing wide
area network ("WAN") technology to facilitate businesses' credit card
processing services. SageNet is a subsidiary of Woodard Technology
& Investments LLC.
- SageNet resells telecommunications services necessary to create
a WAN capable of processing high-speed credit card transactions. Among
other things, SageNet provides the interior wiring capable of processing
the transaction. SageNet's customers are primarily Quick Service Restaurants
such as Arby's and Taco Bueno. Another of SageNet's major customers
is convenience store QuikTrip. As part of its service, SageNet purchases
and resells telecommunications services from various carriers: inside
SBC's territory, SageNet uses SBC's services; outside SBC's territory,
SageNet uses Verizon, Qwest, or BellSouth's services. About 80-90%
of SageNet's customers are located in SBC's region.
- We have an excellent working relationship with SBC and usually do
not actively solicit bids from competitors. However, I am aware that
there are competitors capable of providing services to SageNet, including
BellSouth, Qwest, and Verizon, as well as CLECs both in and out of
SBC's region.
- I have no concerns about the SBC and AT&T merger; I believe
that the merger will be nothing but a good thing for SageNet. Among
other things, I hope the merger will permit SageNet to obtain more
services from SBC out-of-region. In particular, I anticipate that
it will permit SBC to provide local DSL services outside its current
territories, and that SBC will have better backhaul capabilities using
AT&T's network.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct
to the best of my knowledge.
|
_______________/s/________________
Daryl Woodard
SageNet |
Yellow Roadway Technologies Inc.
STATEMENT OF DAVID CORWIN (YELLOW ROADWAY)
- I am Vice President of Infrastructure Services for Yellow Roadway
Technologies, a subsidiary of Yellow Roadway Corporation ("Yellow
Roadway"). Yellow Roadway is a major provider of transportation services,
including long- and short-haul, expedited, and logistical services.
It has approximately 700 sites located throughout all 50 states and
Mexico. Among other things, subsidiary Yellow Roadway Technologies
supports the corporation as a whole with respect to contracting for
its telecommunications services. In my capacity as Vice President,
I am responsible for securing contracts for the majority of Yellow
Roadway's telecommunications needs, including local, long distance,
network, connectivity, and information technology for both voice and
data,
- Yellow Roadway's annual telecommunications budget is approximately
$15 million, excluding wireless. AT&T is our primary telecommunications
provider but we also obtain services from MCI, SBC (local and data
in a limited number of circuits), Verizon (wireless), and Bell South
(local). Until recently, we additionally obtained services from Sprint
- When we have new telecommunications needs or have contracts that
are expiring, we contact our current vendors and send out RFPs. Most
recently, prior to renewing our contract with AT&T in March 2002,
we sent out RFP's to a number of other companies including MCI, McCloud,
Sprint, and SBC. SBC did not bid on the contract.
- Yellow Roadway's approach to securing telecommunications services
is increasingly to partner with large vendors who can fulfill as many
of our needs as possible in a one-stop-shopping model. In that way,
we can obtain the best possible pricing and operational efficiency.
It is my perception that not many of the companies currently in the
market can provide the entire breadth of capabilities in terms of
types of services, quality of service, and geographic scope that Yellow
Roadway needs. Nevertheless, I believe that if Yellow Roadway wanted
to divide its telecommunications contracts into component pieces,
we would have a more than adequate number of viable alternative providers
from which to choose.
- Yellow Roadway is pleased with the AT&T and SBC merger. It has
been our experience that the two companies offer different services.
As a result, Yellow Roadway believes the merger will be of complementary,
not competitive, services. The combined company will bring many strengths
to the table, including a strong multi-service portfolio for companies
to choose from. For customers wanting to have a single company provide
all, or the majority, of their telecommunications services, the merger
will be of significant benefit. For customers wanting to utilize multiple
contracts, a sufficient number of viable alternatives will still exist.
|
_______________/s/________________
David S. Corwin
Yellow Roadway
5/25/05
Date
|
Statement of Jim Johnson
Young's Market - Director of Telecommunications
- My name is Jim Johnson. I am the Director of Telecommunications
for Young's Market. We are a large distributor of wine and spirits
in California. We also have distribution offices in Hawaii, are preparing
to move into Arizona, and have ownership interests in several companies
in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. Currently
we operate 23 locations under the name of Young's Market, but we are
rapidly expanding in these other western states and our objective
is to stretch nationwide within the next several years.
- As Director of Telecommunications, I am responsible for defining
our telecommunications needs, identifying carriers for contract negotiations,
and overseeing the implementation of all services including our help
desk and computer operations for the Young's Market locations. I also
review the telecommunications contracts and assist in some decisions
of our partner companies.
- We have an extensive voice and data network, using a total of 25
T1s for point to point connection. We also have four-digit dialing,
twenty-four 800 numbers, video conferencing, and cellular services.
SBC is our main carrier for both the local and long distance data
and voice services as well as DSL. Verizon provides our local service
for two locations in their territory. AT&T provides the ISDN lines
(digital switched data) for our videoconferencing services. We use
Qwest for our VPN application. Our cellular service is provided by
Verizon, Cingular, and Nextel.
- As part of my due diligence in securing the most competitively priced
and best services, I always go through a formal RFP process. I provide
our usage from previous years and request a dollar and cents breakdown,
as that tends to be the best barometer. I will then analyze the proposals
in light of my knowledge of customer service strengths and weaknesses
of the bidders.
- The last extensive RFP we sent out was 2 years ago. This was for
all of our voice and data services except cellular. We ended up going
with SBC, which resulted in a 3 year contract, lit is my recollection
that we sent the RFP out to SBC, Verizon, Sprint, WorldCom, XO Communications,
AT&T and Qwest. Our objective was to narrow down as much of our
services to one provider. We chose SBC for the bulk of these services
because SBC was strong in providing local services in our region,
and had just become able to offer long distance. At the time we only
had about $24,000 a month in long distance (as compared to our current
$100,000 a month spend), and we felt comfortable giving SBC a chance
given combining local and long-distance was cost- effective for us.
I believe we were one of SBC's first customers in the long distance
arena.
- We will be going through the RFP process again soon as our 3 year
contract with SBC expires in November. While we have been very content
with SBC's service, and will likely renew the contract, I will still
certainly go through the extensive and vigorous RFP process because
I believe it ensures that I will get the best pricing and quality
of service. As of now, I anticipate that we will send the RFP to SBC,
AT&T, Verizon, XO Communications, MCI, Sprint, and Qwest.
- We have grown exponentially in the last three years, and expect
to expand throughout the country in the years to come. Long distance
data and voice services are becoming increasingly significant for
us. Ideally we want to stay with a single provider to the extent that
we can, as this approach has proven to be valuable in all respects,
including service, manageability, and pricing.
- Given our plans for growth to other western states and perhaps the
east coast, we are very much in favor of the proposed merger between
SBC and AT&T. I think it is a tremendous plus for SBC and a plus
for customers that have or want to tap into a nationwide network,
which is something SBC currently cannot provide. AT&T will give
SBC more extensive features and functionalities that Young's Market
will need as we expand nationally. I feel more confident in growing
knowing that we will still be able to for the most part stick to a
single provider, and thus maintain the service and pricing that is
most advantage to our business.
- In addition, the merger will enable the SBC to compete in the international
marketplace. I foresee that at some point Young's Market will need
a direct line of connection with European countries, as the United
Kingdom and France are significant in the wine and spirits industry.
As the economy becomes more global, American companies are disadvantaged
inasmuch as they have to reach out to international telecommunications
companies and link up connections. Combining the assets of AT&T
and SBC will help ensure that an American telecommunications company
will attain a broader reach internationally. Consolidation in our
telecommunications marketplace is necessary; otherwise, American companies
wanting to expand globally will be behind the 8-ball.
- Communication needs are a significant component of our business,
as they are the centerpiece of efficiencies in distribution. I am
constantly looking at new ways of doing things, and striving to secure
lower costs. Even given the proposed mergers, I think there is substantial
competition out there. Indeed, we have a number of alternatives and
options, including using multiple vendors, turning to the second layer
of resellers, and nowadays even using cable companies to drive voice.
I know that I have choices and will continue to have choices that
I can either turn to or use as leverage to get competitive prices
and top-quality service.
I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct
to the best of my knowledge.
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_______________/s/________________
Jim Johnson
Young Market
Director of Telecommunications
Date: 5/6/05
Executed at: Los Angeles, CA
(location)
|
Statement of Todd Thielbar - KCG, Inc.
- My name is Todd Thielbar. I am Information Technology Manager for
KCG. Inc. KCG is primarily a distributor of drywall for the building
industry. KCG has its corporate headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas, and
maintains approximately 40 facilities throughout the United States.
- I have been employed by KCG for approximately 10 years, and have
held the position of IT Manager at KCG for the last 7 years. As IT
Manager, I am responsible for overseeing KCG's entire network, information
systems department, solutions development, and document imaging. These
responsibilities include the procurement of telecommunications services
and telecommunications systems for KCG.
- KCG purchases local, long-distance, and data services from various
telecom providers. KCG's 40 locations generally take local service
from the main local service provider in their area (usually the local
Bell Operating Company, although KCG's Florida locations purchase
local service from Telcove, which is a reseller). KCG purchases all
of its long-distance service, and most of its data services, from
AT&T. KCG receives its remaining data services (the provision
of data lines to 5 of KCG's 40 locations) from Lightedge. KCG purchases
wireless service from a number of carriers, including Nextel, Cingular,
T Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless.
- KCG's total annual expenditures for long-distance service are approximately
$60,000, all of which are paid to AT&T. I would estimate that
KCG's total annual expenditures for data services (including EP) are
$420,000, of which approximately 80 percent are paid to AT&T.
KCG pays between $360,000 and 5420,000 per year for wireless service
from its various providers. I do not have an estimate of KCG's expenditures
for local service, because each of KCG's 40 locations individually
orders such service from the main provider in their area
- For long-distance and data services, KCG selects a provider by soliciting
bids from other carriers. KCG last solicited such bids about two years
ago. The providers who submitted bids were AT&T, Sprint, MCI,
and Lightedge. As KCG's IT Manager, 1 believed that all of these providers
were capable of providing the long-distance and data services that
we needed. Although I considered a number of factors in choosing KCG's
provider (including price and quality of service). I ultimately selected
AT&T, which offered the lowest price.
- I still believe that Sprint, MCI, and Lightedge are viable competitive
alternatives to AT&T as providers of long-distance and data services.
I also consider Verizon, BellSouth, and Qwest as competitive alternatives
to AT&T, because they can provide the same services that AT&T
provides to KCG today.
- As IT Manager, I have been contacted quite often by carriers seeking
to provide for KCG the telecommunications services that AT&T currently
provides. These carriers include, of course, the carriers who bid
two years ago to provide such services (Sprint. MCI, and Lightedge).
But I have also been contacted by other carriers who could provide
these services, including (to the best of my recollection) Birch and
Qwest.
- KCG favors the proposed merger between SBC and AT&T. I believe
that, if SBC and AT&T are permitted to combine their technology
and the services that each of them provides, the merged SBC and AT&T
will be able to offer a wider range of products and services to customers.
In addition, I believe that the merged SBC and AT&T would be able
to develop and offer new, and improved, products and services.
- In addition, the merger would produce, for KCG, the major benefit
of consolidated billing. By receiving a single bill, rather than two
bills, for the various services provided by SBC and AT&T KCG will
be able to save administrative costs.
- KCG has no concerns about the merger. Even after the merger occurs,
KCG will still have a number of competitive alternatives available
for the provision of the services that AT&T is currently providing.
Furthermore, the merger will produce benefits for KCG that do not
exist today.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct
to the best of my knowledge.
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_______________/s/________________
Todd Thielbar
KCG, Inc.
|
STATEMENT OF JEFF BAIER (Your Vitamins, d/b/a/
PRO-CAP LABORATORIES)
- My name is Jeff Baier. I am the Telecommunications Manager of Your
Vitamins (d/b/a Pro-Cap Laboratories) at 430 Parkson Rood, Henderson
Nevada 89015, I manage my firm's voice and data services. I have worked
for Your Vitamins for about six years.
- Our telecommunications spending is approximately $6,000 per month.
We purchase four T-l trunks from AT&T for voice service and two
T-l trunks from AT&T for data service, We purchase business local
service from XO and we purchase an alternate T-l trunk from M Power
for redundancy purposes.
- When Pro-Cap Laboratories has telecommunications needs, or when
we consider switching carriers, we call representatives at venous
carriers that serve our area. These carriers contact us on a regular
basis to let us know that they can provide us service. In addition
to AT&T, XO and M-Power,, our area is served by Sprint (for voice
and data services) and Cox (for data services).
- Given that there are multiple providers of telecommunications services
available to Pro-Cap Laboratories, I have no concern that the proposed
merger of AT&T and SBC will harm or limit the competitive choices
1 now have for my firm's telecommunications needs
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_______________/s/________________
Jeff Baier
Your Vitamins {d/b/a Pro-Cap Laboratories)
|
STATEMENT OF GARY HODGE (US BANCORP)
- I am Executive VP of Technology Planning and Control at US Bancorp.
I have been in this position for a little over a
year, and have held several senior and executive positions at the
company for the last 14 years. US Bancorp has numerous locations in
over 35 states throughout the United States. I work out of St. Paul,
Minnesota.
- US Bancorp uses over 300 carriers for various telecommunications
services, most of which are small regional carriers providing local
voice services. Our primary service provider is MCI, which we use
for long distance voice and data and 1-800 services. The majority
of our telecommunications spend is through MCI, AT&T, SBC, and
Qwest.. We also use a variety of ILECs and CLECs for local voice and
data services.
- US Bancorp uses MCI and AT&T as redundant carriers to provide
resiliency for long distance voice and data services. Currently, we
use MCI for about 80% of our long distance voice traffic and 20% of
our long distance data traffic, and AT&T for 20% of our long distance
voice and 80% of our long distance data traffic.
- SBC is a significant vendor for US Bancorp. US Bancorp uses SBC
primarily for local access and local data, as well as a data network
supplier (reselling Cisco equipment, and equipment installation and
deployment).
- US Bancorp solicits bids for telecommunications services through
Requests for Information ("RFIs"). US Bancorp prefers RFIs over Requests
for Proposals ("RFPs") because RFIs place equal restrictions on the
bidders to provide the best available solution to meet our needs,
while providing US Bancorp with more flexibility to accept or deny
any of the bidders' offers.
- A variety of competing carriers are available to service US Bancorp's
various telecommunications needs. US Bancorp recently issued RFIs
for long distance voice and 1-800 services. We issued the long distance
to Qwest, SBC, MCI, and AT&T. All these carriers are capable of
providing US Bancorp's required dedicated-to-dedicated and dedicated-to-switch
services in a manner that does not double US Bancorp's long distance
spend. The RFI for 1-800 services was issued to AT&T and MCI.
In addition, there are a number of carriers capable of providing US
Bancorp's data service needs, including Sprint, SBC, AT&T, MCI,
Qwest, Verizon, BellSouth, and Cincinnati Bell
- When choosing among the available carriers to provide specific telecommunications
needs, US Bancorp values service quality (which varies widely from
carrier to carrier) over price. US Bancorp also favors contract flexibility.
- It is my belief that the recent regulatory rulings permitting the
RBOCs and CLECs to reenter the long distance market will result in
the loss of 30-40% of AT&T and MCI's market share and ultimately
force these carriers out of the market altogether. The market has
become hyper-competitive, as there is not enough space for five to
seven players to provide quality telecommunications services while
making a profit. The SBC and AT&T merger will have a positive
impact on the industry because AT&T would not otherwise survive
against the influx of new entrants in the long distance market
- From my perspective, pricing in the telecommunications market is
highly competitive and has been so for about 10 years. Pricing has
hit near or at rock bottom, and carriers are no longer making sufficient
margins on their services. Unless the market has healthy, financially
stable companies, the U.S. will fell woefully behind the rest of the
world in technology and innovation. Margins have to improve so that
the U.S. has a network infrastructure sufficient to compete with the
rest of the world. At this time, U.S. earners are not delivering the
innovative technology necessary for the market's needs. In particular,
the U.S. has already fallen considerably behind Europe and Japan in
wireless technology.
- From my perspective, I do not see SBC and AT&T as competitors
(even though we have sometimes issued the same RFI to both companies).
One provides us local access, local data, and equipment, and the other
provides us long-distance and 1-800 services. I also feel that US
Bancorp has plenty of alternatives to each company in its respective
area. As a result, I have no concern about SBC's proposed acquisition
of AT&T.
- I believe that a combined SBC-AT&T will be beneficial to US
Bancorp because it will permit us to obtain a broader array of local
and long-distance services from a single vendor. Having a single point
of contact for the entire country, instead of multiple points of contact
for different services and different areas, will be easier to manage.
In addition, a single carrier providing more services will provide
a larger account team with which we can develop a close relationship
and with which we can work to better meet our telecommunications needs.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct
to the best of my knowledge.
|
_______________/s/________________
Gary Hodge
US Bancorp
5-23-2005
Date
________________________________
Executed at
|
STATEMENT OF WILLIAM S. JOHNSON
ORCO CONSTRUCTION SUPPLY
- Since November 2003,1 have been the Chief of Staff at ORCO Construction
Supply. ORCO is a wholesale distributor of construction supplies,
hardware, power tools, and accessories, with its headquarters in Livermore,
California and twenty-one stores in California, Nevada, and Arizona.
- When I came to ORCO in 2003, it was clear that among ORCO's pressing
IT infrastructure issues that were important for the company to address
was the fact that it used at least seven different vendors to supply
its voice and data telecommunications needs. These vendors included
XO Communications, which ORCO used for data connectivity (using point-to-point
Tl lines) between its store locations and its California headquarters;
SBC/Nevada Bell, which ORCO used for local voice service and "last-mile"
data traffic in some locations in California and Nevada; Qwest/USWest,
which it used for local access in Arizona; AT&T, which ORCO used
for long-distance and 1-800 service; Sprint, which ORCO used on an
incidental basis for long-distance service; and Verizon, which ORCO
used for local access in Verizon territories in California.
- The main problem involved in using this variety of vendors was that
when an ORCO store lost telecommunications service - something that
happens approximately 3-5 times per week across ORCO's locations -
the different vendors would engage in finger-pointing. Indeed, it
was difficult to figure out which vendor to contact and hold responsible
for the problems causing outages, and consequently it was time-consuming
to resolve the outages. The time taken to fix outages was a significant
cost for ORCO.
- In light of these problems, as well as to implement a new Avaya
voice-over-IP solution and integrate voice and data services around
EP, we decided to consider a new provisioning scenario under which
we would consolidate our service as much as possible with a single
provider. We considered SBC, MCI, Verizon, and others for this purpose,
evaluating them based on two overriding criteria: First, we wanted
a provider that would have good control over the local loop, because
most of our outages occur in the last mile of service. Our newly engaged
IT Director, Dan Hughes, was assigned to conduct this investigation
and implement the most effective and efficient system.
- Based on these considerations, ORCO selected SBC as its primary
carrier, supplemented by provisioning from Verizon and Qwest outside
SBC's region. (We will also continue to use XO at limited locations
until we complete the implementation of our VoIP solution.) SBC has
the best control of local facilities. Also, SBC appears to be located
currently in those areas that we plan near-term expansion. Any impact
of the AT&T acquisition by SBC was not considered, and is not
presently deemed to have any bearing on our decision.
- With respect to ORCO's expanded use of SBC for local service at
stores within SBC territory, I am not concerned about SBC's acquisition
of AT&T because the merger does not currently change the competitive
situation in any significant respect. Although SBC is by far our preferred
provider of local service, competition from other providers still
keeps SBC honest.
- Similarly, I do not feel currently threatened by SBC's acquisition
of AT&T on the general ground that it might lead to the reassembly
of "Ma Bell" in the pre-breakup days. Our immediate concern is that
ORCO has solutions - including, for example, VoIP, IP-based data solutions,
and wireless capabilities - that enhances our competitiveness, reduces
our costs, and provides competitive alternatives to a combined SBC/AT&T.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct
to the best of my knowledge.
|
_______________/s/________________
William Johnson
Chief of Staff
ORCO Construction Supply
|
Statement of Rick Mahoney - Oak Street Mortgage
- My name is Rick Mahoney, and I am Chief Information Officer for
Oak Street Mortgage LLC ("Oak Street"), formerly known Cresleigh Bancorp.
In this capacity I am responsible for selecting the telecommunications
services and telecommunication providers for Oak Street. I have been
with the company for three years.
- Oak Street, a subsidiary of Oak Street Financial Services, helps
borrowers in 27 states buy homes, refinance and consolidate debt.
Oak Street is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana, and it has 25 retail
outlets. Oak Street spends close to $1.75MM annually on telecommunications
services. AT&T Corp. ("AT&T') provides most of these services,
including local service where it is able to do so. Oak Street prefers
to partner with one telecommunications provider in order to reduce
vendor management costs. Oak Street also purchases local telephone
services from local exchange carriers.
- In my experience purchasing telecommunications services for Oak
Street, I have found significant competition among telecommunications
providers for our business. Competition has improved prices but better
technology has also contributed to lower prices. However, lower prices
have caused the telecommunications industry to lose the support characteristics
it once had, as well as profitability.
- I support the proposed acquisition of AT&T by SBC Communications,
Inc. ("SBC") because I believe it would allow the resulting company
to leverage AT&T's and SBC's respective strengths. SBC's strength
is in providing local service but it lacks the "breadth and depth"
to manage a national network. AT&T is not as good as SBC in providing
local service but is good at managing a national network. In my view,
the company resulting from the merger would provide better value by
permitting Oak Street to partner with a single company that can provide
a wide range of services and support. 5. For all the reasons above,
I support the proposed purchase of AT&T by SBC.
Dated: 4-22-05
|
_______________/s/________________
Rick Mahoney
|
| |
Customer Care & Acquisition
4301 Cambridge Road
Fort Worth, TX 76155
817-355-8200 phone
817-355-8726 fax
www.novo1.com |
STATEMENT OF MITCHELL SWINDELL (NOVO 1, INC.)
- I am Senior Vice President of Information Technology for NOVO 1,
Inc., f.k.a. Call Solutions. NOVO 1 is a marketing and call center
outsourcing company with offices in nine states and telecommunications
activities that touch all fifty states. As Senior Vice President of
Information Technology, I am responsible for all information technology
infrastructure and telecommunications services for the company. In
my present and prior positions at NOVO 1, I have been involved with
the company's telecommunications since 1999.
- NOVO 1 currently contracts for voice (long distance, local, and
voice over internet protocol) and data telecommunications services.
Annually, NOVO 1 spends millions of dollars for these services, about
80 percent of which is for voice services.
- NOVO 1 uses an informal RFP process for selecting its telecommunications
providers from multiple possible providers. In contracting for telecommunication
services, NOVO 1 prefers using single source contracting for its primary
needs because of economies of scale and reliability issues. Single-source
contracting is not always possible or practical, however. For example,
in some locations NOVO 1 uses multiple carriers due to legacy contracts
held by companies we acquire. In other instances, customers sometimes
require us to use particular telecommunications providers) in servicing
their accounts, particularly for inbound calling purposes. Moreover,
given the business we are in, we will use multiple sources to provide
redundancy of service for diversity and disaster recovery purposes.
As a result, NOVO 1 has current relationships with a number of providers
including AT&T, MCI, SBC, Qwest, and some of the Baby Bells, among
others.
- There is strong pricing competition in the telecommunications industry.
It is our further experience that there is currently a sufficient
level of competition in the market for the full range of telecommunication
services. Moreover, we have found that there are a number of viable
options to meet our needs. We believe this will continue to be the
case following the merger of AT&T and SBC.
- We believe that the merger of AT&T and SBC will create a number
of benefits for customers: economies of scale savings; a larger organization
to work on enhancements to existing technologies; and an increased
range of service offerings.
|
_______________/s/________________
Mitchell Swindell
NOVO l Inc.
|
Statement of Randy Dotemoto
- My name is Randy Dotemoto. I am Senior Vice President, Chief Financial
Officer and General Manager of Nix Check Cashing. I have been with
the company for nine years. I have responsibility for overseeing all
of our telecommunications decisions. Nix Check Cashing, founded in
1966 is headquartered in Carson, California and has 59 retail stores
throughout Southern California including kiosks inside major retailers
such as Food 4 Less, Rite-Aid and Big!Lots.
- We have traditional land lines for local and long distance voice
for all of our locations. Long distance makes up a very small component
of our telecommunication spend, as our primary use for it is to call
financial institutions to verify checks. The bulk of our telecommunications
spend is for data connectivity between our retail locations and main
office and with vendor applications that are integrated with our point
of sale system. We utilize frame relay, DSL and T1 lines for data
connectivity. SBC is our primary provider for these telecommunications
services, including long distance. We also use Cingular for our cellular
service.
- We are a midsized company, and we have proven that it is more cost-advantageous
for us to go with a single provider that can offer a total package.
Our prior long distance provider was MCI and we have reduced our long
distance costs since switching our long distance service to SBC in
June 2004. Moreover, our business is extremely dependent upon communications.
We deal with financial and other sensitive identity information, which
makes security and reliable data connectivity very important to us.
We have redundant telecommunication systems that are all provided
by SBC. It is essential to me to have one point of contact if a problem
arises which provides accountability without the finger pointing that
could likely occur if we had multiple providers.
- I think that the planned merger between SBC and AT&T will be
favorable to us. In particular, I believe that it will allow SBC to
expand its service offerings, which I believe can then be incorporated
into our total package at a better price. I think the merger will
therefore have a positive impact on pricing and quality of service
for our business. In addition, I do not believe this merger would
reduce competition in the overall marketplace, as I believe that for
the most part SBC and AT&T provide different services and there
will still remain many players and options to choose from at all levels.
I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct
to the best of my knowledge.
|
_______________/s/________________
Randy Dotemoto
|
Date: May 5, 2005 Executed at: Carson,
CA
Navicert Financial Inc. d/b/a Nix Check Cashing
17019 Kingsview Avenue Carson, California 90746-1220 (310) 538-2242
Statement of Rod Masney- NIBCO
- My name is Rod Masney, and I am Director of Information Technology
for NIBCO INC ("NIBCO"). In this capacity I am responsible for selecting
the telecommunications services and telecommunication providers for
NIBCO. I have been with the company for nine years.
- NIBCO is a privately-held, 101-year old company mat manufactures
flow control products, including fittings, valves, and support systems.
NIBCO's headquarters are in Elkhart, Indiana, and it has locations
all over the United States, one in Mexico, and one in Europe. NIBCO
spends close to $1 million annually on telecommunications services.
The lion's share of this amount is for long-distance and data services
purchased from AT&T Corp. ("AT&T"). AT&T is NIBCO's preferred
provider. NIBCO's strategy is to partner with preferred providers
because it believes that such relationships benefit both parties.
In addition, NIBCO is too small to manage a large group of vendors.
NIBCO also purchases local telephone services from local exchange
carriers, and wireless/mobile services from other carriers.
- In my experience purchasing telecommunications services for NIBCO,
I have found significant competition among telecommunications providers
for NIBCO's business. NIBCO currently is in the middle of an RFP process
for its voice and data business, and numerous telecommunications providers
are seeking to provide these services to NIBCO. The price competition
for all services subject to the RFP is fierce. In particular, for
many services, including voice and managed services, some providers
arc offering prices considerably below what NIBCO currently pays.
Some offered prices are so low that I do not see how the providers
can make any money.
- For the reasons discussed below, I support the proposed acquisition
of AT&T by SBC Communications, Inc. ("SBC"). In my view, an AT&T-SBC
merger would be a good marriage. At the products and services level,
each of the companies brings something to the table. AT&T has
a strong global presence for voice and data services. SBC has a strong
local presence for voice and data services, and also provides wireless
services. NJD3CO wants to partner with a company that can provide
a wide range of services. In addition, from a resource perspective,
there is great synergy between the two companies mat will enable the
combined company to take advantage of efficiencies and a favorable
cost structure.
- The telecommunications industry is in a consolidation mode. I think
this is a good thing. The synergies of consolidation will create more
predictable pricing and margin levels for providers. I have seen significant
pricing pressure in the industry, to the point where some providers
are offering prices that are unsustainable. In addition, the pricing
pressure inevitably leads providers to offer lower service quality
to meet their prices. I believe that the consolidation in the industry
will cause market prices to stabilize, which will be good for providers
as well as customers. Hopefully, stable prices will lead to better
service quality.
- Further, I believe that an AT&T-SBC marriage would be a positive
thing because AT&T is an important partner for NIBCO, and I am
concerned about AT&T's financial health and the losses that it
continues to incur. NIBCO wants a partner that is healthy and strong,
and will continue to be around. I believe the merger will be beneficial
in this regard.
- For all the reasons above, 1 support the proposed purchase of AT&T
by SBC.
Dated: April 15, 2005
|
_______________/s/________________
Rod Mansey
|
Information Technology
11335 N. Torrey Pines Rd.
La Jolla, CA 92037-1011
(858)642-8145 www.nu.edu
May 4,2005
National University, the second-largest private, nonprofit university
in California, is dedicated to making lifelong learning opportunities
accessible to a diverse population of learners. National University
offers more than 62 undergraduate and graduate degrees, and
17 teacher credential and certificate programs. It also features a unique
one-course-per-month format and extensive online courses and degree
programs. Disciplines offered include business, technology, criminal
justice, computers, education, human services, nursing, counseling,
and arts and sciences.
I have been National University's Director of TT for eighteen months
and am responsible for overseeing the technology resources of the University,
Including network, telephony, administrative systems, websites, email,
some academic systems, Help Desk, desktop support, computer equipment
in open labs and classrooms, and video conferencing.
I believe that the competitive marketplace for all of our telecommunications
services is quite healthy. For example, prior to the merger proposed
between AT&T and SBC, we re-bid our contract for long distance,
for which the incumbent was AT&T, and we ultimately selected SBC
as the new provider. While staff may have thought that we would of course
choose SBC because they are our network provider, this was not the case.
Numerous vendors offered their proposals through our RFP process. We
reviewed each of these proposals in depth in order to make our decision,
and found there was healthy competition.
New technologies have opened up many opportunities for the University
and we anticipate that our options will increase in the future. As an
example, we now operate a converged network, for which all local access
data lines are SBC ATM circuits. We have incorporated VoIP throughout
the network for our toter-office communications. Our next benchmarking
project will concern best practices for implementing wireless technologies
across our enterprise, and currently, we are piloting SBC's wireless
hotspot technology in two of our locations.
National University watches all mergers in the technology and telecommunications
fields quite carefully. Fundamentally, we want to ensure that the quality
of products and services we offer our customers does not decline. We
hope and believe that consolidation will and can improve the quality
of our telecommunications services, particularly with respect to our
ability to seamlessly incorporate new technologies. I do not anticipate
that the proposed merger between SBC and AT&T will adversely affect
our services, as I expect that the combined company will keep on board
the best and brightest to assist organizations like National University
in implementing innovative and effective telecommunications solutions.
I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing « true and correct
to the best of my knowledge.
Sincerely,
/s/
Eileen D. Heveron, PhD
Director, Information Technology
STATEMENT OF MR. JACKSON LIN (ASUSTek COMPUTER INC.)
- My name is Jackson Lin. I am the Assistant Manager - Network Design
at ASUSTek Computer Inc. In that capacity, I am responsible for ASUSTek's
sophisticated telecommunications needs.
- ASUSTek is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan and has business locations
around the world. ASUSTek is a leading global manufacturer of electronics,
including computer equipment (for example, ASUSTek is a worldwide
supplier of personal computer motherboards), communications equipment
and consumer electronics. ASUSTek purchases multiple "sophisticated"
telecommunications services from AT&T. Specifically, Asustek purchases
networked data center services and EVPN services from AT&T (primarily,
in California and Holland). ASUSTek also purchases local and long
distance services from AT&T and a variety of other providers in
the many worldwide locations where it conducts its business activities.
- I regard telecommunications services as very important and I am
very pleased with AT&T's performance (both technical and customer
service) and security. I regard AT&T's sophisticated services
as the best available.
- The proposed merger between SBC and AT&T is a good thing for
AT&T, SBC and ASUSTek. In my view, SBC and AT&T provide complimentary
services - SBC provides sophisticated local services and AT&T
has a sophisticated worldwide network. I believe that the merged entity
will likely have the capacity to provide a broader spectrum of sophisticated
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct
to the best of my knowledge.
|
_______________/s/________________
Jackson Lin
ASUSTek Computer Inc.
April ,2005
|
BALDOR
MOTORS, DRIVERS & GENERATORS
|
Baldor Electric Company
5711 R.S. Boreham Jr. St.
Fort Smith, AR 72901
(479)646-4711 FAX (479)648-5841
www.baldor.com |
STATEMENT OF ROB CATES
(BALDOR ELECTRIC COMPANY)
- I am Systems and Operations Manager for Baldor Electric Company.
Among other things, Baldor manufactures industrial electric motors
and generators and has plants in twelve states and overseas. As Systems
and Operations Manager, I am responsible for all voice and data telecommunications
for Baldor, including local and long distance, computer, hardware,
internet, and cellular services. I have been in my current position
for approximately 4 years. In addition, for about seven years before
that I was also involved in telecommunications contracting for Baldor.
- Baldor currently spends between $8,000 and $10,000 monthly for voice
(local and long distance), data (internet), and wireless telecommunications
services. Our primary providers are MCI and SBC. We also use a number
of other companies that are local to particular markets. In the past,
Baldor also used AT&T.
- The majority of Baldor's facilities participate in corporate-wide
contracts. Some facilities, however, have their own contracts for
local voice or other services. Elmer way, all contracting is managed
through Baldor's corporate office.
- When Baldor has telecommunications needs, it typically uses an
informal RFP process. We will contact established companies with strong
business records which offer the services we need. Cost is a significant,
but not the only, factor in our final selection. We use multiple providers
for both voice and data services. For voice services we use multiple
providers because of the cost advantages of doing so. For data services,
multiple providers give us necessary back-up protection.
- The telecommunications market is much more competitive today than
it was five years ago, At that time, customers wanting reliable service
only had a few choices. - Today, that is no longer the case. Baldor
believes that the current market for telecommunications services is
very competitive in terms of the number of companies providing services,
the range of services being provided, and cost We have lots of options
for meeting our needs. We do not believe the merger between AT&T
and SBC will change this, Moreover, in general, mergers can result
in benefits to customers both in terms of improved costs and services.
I expect that will prove true in this instance for the reasons I have
stated above.
|
_______________/s/________________
Rob Cates
Baldor Electric Company
|
STATEMENT OF JEFFREY CAMPBELL AND FREDERICK
GRATKE
(BNSF RAILWAY COMPANY)
- This is a joint statement of Jeffrey Campbell, Vice President Technology
Services and Chief Information Officer of BNSF Railway Company ("BNSF"),
and Frederick Gratke, Assistant Vice President of Telecommunications,
of BNSF.
- BNSF is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, and operates an extensive
railroad network in North America, with 33,000 route miles covering
28 states and two Canadian provinces. On average, we spend about $30
million annually on telecommunications services from commercial providers.
This is in addition to the money we spend on BNSF's own safety and
security-critical telecommunications infrastructure.
- BNSF relies upon its own telecommunications infrastructure for a
wide range of safety and security critical monitoring and control
functions. In addition, because of our vast geographic coverage, we
also utilize a number of telecommunications providers. These telecommunications
carriers are selected through a competitive bidding process as contracts
expire and new services are needed. Our current local voice carriers
include Verizon, Qwest, Sprint, SBC, AT&T, and MCI. Our long distance
is primarily with AT&T, although we also use MCI and Sprint.
- In addition, we have also conducted a detailed analysis of various
systems integrators, narrowing down the pool of competitors to and
seriously considering EDS, although we have chosen not to pursue this
avenue at this point.
- We are currently exploring a shift to VoIP and have participated
in discussions with SBC and Qwest, among others, with regard to VoIP
deployments.
- When selecting a telecommunications carrier, the qualities we seek
are reliability and a competitive price. We are also concerned about
the carriers' financial viability.
- We believe that the SBC/AT&T merger will benefit the telecommunications
industry and consumers, as it will allow these companies to focus
on developing their products and on emerging technologies, rather
than on the financial difficulties they may be facing or come to face
in the future on their own.
- In addition, we believe that consolidation will hasten the standards-setting
process for new technologies, which we are eager to test. Furthermore,
we believe that consolidation of telecommunications providers will
lead to cost savings, because the industry is highly capital-intensive
and efficiencies can be obtained by combining the competitors' networks.
- As a result, we are very supportive of SBC's acquisition of AT&T.
We are not concerned that this acquisition will produce an anticompetitive
effect. We believe that the telecommunications marketplace will remain
competitive after this acquisition. SBC's acquisition of AT&T
will unite SBC's local services with AT&T's long distance infrastructure,
which makes for a positive and powerful combination.
- We look forward to dealing with companies that can offer a multitude
of services supporting and supplementing our own private telecommunications
infrastructure at all levels: regional, national, and international.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct
to the best of my knowledge.
| At: _Fort Worth, Texas
Dated: 5/9/05
Dated: 5/23/05
|
_______________/s/________________
Jeffrey Cambell
_______________/s/________________
Frederick Gratke
|
STATEMENT OF LARRY EBERT - CBC COMPANIES
I am the president of Credit Bureau Collection Services (CBCS). CBCS
is a division of CBC Companies. CBC Companies owns various businesses
specializing in:
- Real Estate Services
- Mortgage reporting
- Appraisals
- Title work
- Flood certifications and etc.
- Consumer Databases
- TransUnion Affiliate
- Experian Affiliate
- Innovis
- AmRent
- Direct Marketing Products
- MKTG
- Technical Applications and Software
- ACAPS (Application Processing for Credit Grantors)
- MACS (System used to process mortgage reports)
- CBCWIN and CBCWEB (Credit delivery systems)
- CBCS (Collections and First Party call center activity)
As president of CBCS, I am responsible for collections and call center
activity. I have been in this position for 3 years. I have been employed
with CBC Companies for 29 years doing various jobs.
CBC has a variety of telecommunication needs. This includes our call
centers' needs, as well as other customer requirements to access millions
of consumer records from all over the United States. CBC has made multiple
purchases and secured contracts with SBC. These include Tl 's, Centrex
phone systems, Intra Latte long distance, PBX phone systems, OC-12,
IVR system, and other miscellaneous products.
The majority of our telecom services, however, are provided by MCI.
We also do business with Quest and Verizon. When we seek services for
our call centers and other applications we call upon all of the big
telecom providers to compete for our business. An example of the competition
is: We recently issued a formal RFP for an IP system. An outside consultant
handled the bidding process. I know that the RFP went out to a number
of providers, but it came down to MCI and SBC. The consulting company
recommended that we go with MCI because of price and we did.
I have no concerns about the SBC and AT&T merger. I do not think
that it is going to make a difference in our ability to get competitive
bids. There are numerous competitors who continuously let us know they
want our business.
I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct
to the best of my knowledge.
| |
_______________/s/________________
Larry Ebert
|
April 29,2005
Susan M. Mathews
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP
555 California St.
San Francisco, CA 94104
Dear Ms. Mathews,
I am the Vice President for Accounting and Information Systems for
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. (DFA). DFA is the largest dairy cooperative
in the United States with locations in forty-nine of the fifty states,
and eighty-seven locations on our data network.
DFA spent approximately $1.76 million on data, long distance voice,
local voice, and IP services with AT&T in 2004. DFA is mid-way through
our current service contract with AT&T. At the time that we negotiated
this contract, I compared the price, services, and technology offered
by several other comparable suppliers. The three finalists for this
contract were AT&T, Qwest and SBC. However, I do not believe that
the merger between AT&T and SBC will limit DFA's options or result
in an increase in future prices to DFA for many reasons.
Most importantly, 1 think that AT&T and SBC are not really offering
the same services. Also they do not have the same capabilities. We ultimately
chose AT&T for our long distance and data contract because I did
not think that SBC made a convincing case that it could really provide
the national reach and sophisticated data services that we knew were
offered by AT&T. I think that the combined company will be able
to offer us a better package of services with better prices. 1 think
that the ability of companies to have a one-stop shop that offers all
of the voice and data services that an organization needs through a
single account service team is a big benefit for customers.
My own view is also that the telecom market will remain extremely competitive
even with consolidation between local service providers and long distance
providers. There are so many different technology options for consumers
now such as VoIP and wireless, which phone companies will have to continue
to compete with other types of companies. Also these advances are continuing
to bring more efficiencies and better rates. For all of these reasons,
I think that the proposed merger between AT&T and SBC is a positive
development for DFA and for the telecom industry,
I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct
to the best of my knowledge.
Sincerely,
/s/
Joe Clark
Vice President - Accounting & Information Systems
Dairy Farmers of America
STATEMENT OF GENE KINCY (D.R. PERTENERS/SOUHTWEST
TIMES)
- I am the publisher of the Southwest Times Record. Part of my job
involves working with die IT department to make the Southwest Times'
telecommunications decisions. The Southwest Times is one of approximately
24 publications published under the corporate umbrella of Stevens
Media Group, which is headquartered in Las Vegas. In addition to the
Southwest Times, the Stevens Media publications include the Las Vegas
Review Journal, The Hawaii Tribune-Herald and West Hawaii Today, and
The Morning News (the Southwest Times' sister publication in Northwest
Arkansas). Stevens Media Group is owned by Stevens, Inc., which is
headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.
- The Southwest Times is made up of two offices located in Fort Smith,
Arkansas, as well as a printing facility. SBC is our primary telecommunications
carrier, although we obtain cell service from ALLTEL and use microwave
service provided by New Roads Technology to send our newspages from
the office to the pressroom.
- Before our switch to microwave, we had obtained high speed lines
provided from our corporate office in Las Vegas, as part of the corporate
wide area network (WAN). We transitioned to microwave about 5 years
ago, when we started producing pages for The Morning News and when
New Roads approached us with the microwave option.
- The Stevens Media Group set up the WAN several years ago through
AT&T to connect the various publications to the Las Vegas headquarters.
The WAN still exists, but beginning about 2-3 years ago most of the
local publications began provisioning their own telecommunications
services.
- Once the local publications moved away from the AT&T WAN, the
Southwest Times began to obtain local and long distance voice and
data from SBC. We did not bid this service out to various vendors,
because I was familiar and happy with SBC's quality services, and
because quality was the most important characteristic for me. However,
both Sprint and ALLTEL provide services in my territory, and I could
turn to them if I began experiencing problems with SBC.
- I have absolutely no competitive concerns about the merger between
SBC and AT&T. My past experiences with SBC have proven to me that
SBC is an excellent company providing quality service at competitive
rates. I do not believe the merger will change this in any way.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct
to the best of my knowledge.
| |
_______________/s/________________
Gene Kincy
Southwest Times
|
STATEMENT QF KENT BELASCO
CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER OF FIRST MTDWEST BANK
- I am Kent Belasco, Executive Vice President and CIO of First Midwest
Bank.
- First Midwest purchases primarily data network, management and monitoring
services from SBC. We also lease routers and data circuits from SBC.
The data network management and monitoring services have been provided
to us under a five-year contract that is up for renewal. We are currently
entertaining a three-year contract proposal to continue these services.
Global Crossing provides our long distance service.
- For most major telecommunications purchases we typically use an
RFI process that concludes in an RFP. If the services sought are monetarily
small, we use a less formal process.
- First Midwest outsources its core data processing to Metavante,
Outsourcing is useful to supplement the depth and expertise of the
technological resources of a company so that the burden of rapid growth
or handling newer technologies does not fall solely on the enterprise.
That said, enterprise customers are sophisticated purchasers of telecommunications
services and outsourcing is used predominantly as a means of effectively
leveraging and allocating scarce resources.
- I believe the SBC/AT&T merger will be beneficial to enterprise
customers. It will present customers with a larger organization with
greater opportunities and resources that will translate into customer
benefits. In the long-term there will be potential technological benefits
to the merger as well, Such as improved VoIP technology, among others.
- As I have seen in the banking industry, the proliferation of bank
mergers actually creates some competitive niches in the marketplace
and allows smaller entities to capture a very specific, albeit smaller,
market segment. Therefore I believe new entrants in the telecom field
can and will occur, as in banking, and can potentially keep prices
in check and present potential additional technological options that
will maintain, if not increase, the overall competitive environment.
- Customers can also benefit from being able to obtain a majority
of their service needs from a single source. In the past, that has
not always been possible or easy to accomplish. The contemplated SBC/AT&T
merger will hopefully allow us to do so. This is both simpler, administratively,
and allows a customer to seek better pricing through relationship
pricing and management due to the range of services being purchased.
- In summary, I believe that the proposed merger is capable of resulting
in greater breadth and depth of services that draw upon greater resources
and provides a wider range of technological opportunities. My only
concerns are how long it will take to conclude, whether the bureaucratic
and administrative aspects attendant to the merger will occur smoothly,
and whether our company -- being a relatively small entity -- will
be able to easily and effectively get the attention of the even larger
SBC At the same time, as discussed above, I anticipate that the increased
size of the combined company will be beneficial from a resource and
technology standpoint.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed on this 16th day of May, 2005 in Itasca, Illinois.
| |
_______________/s/________________
Kent Belasco
|
STATEMENT OF MICAHEL MORAN - FREMONT BANK
- My name is Michael Moran. I am the Chief Information Officer of
Fremont Bank. My role is to provide oversight for all information
technology strategic planning and operations for the company. I have
been in my position for over fourteen years.
- Fremont Bank is a community bank primarily based in the South San
Francisco Bay area, including Alameda and Contra Costa Counties and
some parts of San Jose. We have a branch in Carmel, and are beginning
to stretch out into the Central Valley. We also have loan offices
in Sacramento, San Diego, Bend, OR, Las Vegas, NV, and Scottsdale,
AZ.
- Our core telecommunications services are with SBC. This is by choice,
as we have made a concerted effort over the last several years to
consolidate billing and minimize the number of vendor relationships
we need to manage.
- I firmly believe we have options for our telecommunications solutions,
and indeed we keep those options open by welcoming quotes from other
providers. In the most recent past we have received quotes from companies
new to the industry. For example Time Warner has laid extensive fiber
throughout our region, and can offer equivalent data and voice services
that we currently get from SBC. Comcast is also laying fiber. VoIP
providers like Cisco and Skype abound. Fiber has become an effective
way for businesses in our region to leverage their existing telecommunications
services.
- In this light, I do not believe that the proposed SBC and AT&T
will result in an increase in pricing. The fight is really no longer
about copper-based services, but about fiber and satellite infrastructures.
The number of vendors out there that have appeared on the scene with
fiber and Internet connectivity for VoIP should prevent any anticompetitive
effect from this merger. If anything, you could make the argument
that the newer players have the advantage. They have more mobility.
They do not have to deal with the fiscal constraints of an extensive
copper, analog, non-switched legacy environment.
- Overall, I think this merger puts the bank in a better position,
as it gives SBC that many more arrows in its quiver that we can tap
into. What it comes down to for us is the ability to leverage the
services that our telecom provider can give us. I do not want to manage
a number of different vendors. That only complicates our ability to
secure seamless telecommunications solutions to serve our customers.
I see SBC and AT&T as complementary companies. We have been happy
with SBC's services, and we look favorably upon AT&T's broader
network as we anticipate more expansion in the western states.
| Date: 5/23/05 |
_______________/s/________________
Michael Moran
Vice President & Chief Information Officer
Information Systems
Fremont Bank
Executed at: 10:40 am
|
Statement of Tom Kress - Journal Sentinel
- I am the director of information technologies at Journal Sentinel.
I participate in decisions the company makes with respect to purchasing
all telecommunications services. I have been in this position for
one year.
- Journal Sentinel publishes the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which
serves as the only major daily newspaper for the Milwaukee metropolitan
area. We are a subsidiary of Journal Communications, Inc., which is
a holding company for six sister media and communications companies.
Journal Communications is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The
Journal Sentinel makes its own telecommunications decisions, and those
decisions affect Journal Communications Corporate Office by the fact
we operate out of the same central office building.
- All of Journal Sentinel's facilities are in Wisconsin. We have distribution
centers throughout the state, but our main focus is the six to seven
county area surrounding Milwaukee. SBC is the most established provider
in this metropolitan area, and therefore the bulk of our telecommunications
services are with SBC. SBC provides all of our local data and voice
services for our central office in Milwaukee, including PBX and a
SONET ring that connects our office to our production facilities,
which are about five miles from downtown. SBC also provides our Internet
services through DS3s and T1s. We have a maintenance contract with
SBC for our infrastructure. We use several mom and pop providers to
serve the telecommunications needs of our distribution centers throughout
the state, as our decision is primarily driven by price. We have some
AT&T long distance voice services, but we tend to go with the
local carrier at each location, including SBC in Milwaukee. Recently
we have evaluated and are in the process of converting some of our
Distribution Centers to VOIP services through Time Warner that currently
have ISDN network terminations (as opposed to DSL). We expect the
transition to be relatively seamless, and our services will be enhanced
while saving money.
- We are always looking for more cost effective and efficient telecommunications
services, and absolutely use an RFP process to make certain that we
seek and choose our best options. For the last couple of years we
have worked with INI, a consulting company that audits our phone bills
for all of our locations and researches alternatives. We have made
some adjustments as a result of their recommendations. For example,
this consulting service is what led us to add VOIP technology with
Time Warner at a number of our locations.
- We do not think that the planned merger of SBC and AT&T will
have a major impact on our existing telecommunications services, or
for that matter will change the competitive landscape in our area.
SBC is ready the only copper based carrier in the metropolitan Milwaukee
area and thus we will likely continue to use SBC for the bulk of our
services. We have been very happy with SBC's network, services, and
account team. One aspect about this merger that we find particularly
exciting and interesting is the opportunity for SBC and AT&T together
to improve their VOIP technology. From our perspective, currently
only the cable companies have provided this service effectively, and
in our region our options are limited to Time Warner. We will be keeping
a very close eye on our options for VOIP services, and hope that this
merger will bring more competition in the area.
I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct
to the best of my knowledge.
| |
_______________/s/________________
Tom Kress
Journal Sentinel
4/4/05
|
STATEMENT OF BOB ELLISON (GREGG APPLIANCES INC)
- This is the statement of Bob Ellison, Chief Information Officer
of Gregg Appliances Inc. Gregg Appliances is a billion dollar operation
that manages high-end consumer electronics and appliance stores throughout
Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina,
and South Carolina.
- SBC provides us with dedicated hosting, Internet connectivity, Tl,
and NVPN services throughout Gregg Appliances' areas of operation.
SBC also provides local services to us in all the states in which
it is the ILEC. A combination of AT&T and various mom and pop
operators provide local voice services in the states in which SBC
does not operate. Qwest provides all of our long distance and toll-free
calling services.
- The aforementioned companies won Gregg Appliances' business based
on an RFP that the company sent out in May or June of 2004 for all
services to be provided under a 36-month contract MCI, Sprint, Qwest,
and AT&T all competed for some or all of the services requested
in the RFP. SBC won the data and local access service contracts because
it had the best service plan and offered the package at a competitive
price.
- I believe mat the merger between SBC and AT&T will be great
for the industry and great for enterprise customers like Gregg Appliances.
First, the two companies complement each other in the services and
products they provide. SBC's core competencies are local service and
hosting, while AT&T has the best data network and national voice
service. The companies are a perfect fit for each other.
- Second, Gregg Appliances, like most enterprise customers, prefers
to work with one telecommunications vendor. This allows us to allocate
our money effectively and increases our vendors* ability to respond
through ownership of any issues, like the interconnectivity problems
that frequently occur in connecting the last mile of communications.
- Third, there will continue to be competition in the telecommunications
industry, and this competition will come from both the firms discussed
above and from non-traditional sources. For example, Gregg Appliances
currently uses VoIP in its company headquarters and in about 20% of
its remote facilities, which runs on Cisco's system.
- Fourth, I believe that prices will continue to decrease after the
merger. The last competitor will always force price competition. Right
now, a carrier called Vonage runs its telecommunications over the
Internet It is 25% cheaper to use mat than traditional voice services.
Gregg Appliances has not switched yet because it is a big company
and has some concerns about quality and reliability of a new solution.
As the quality of the services improves, however, there will be nothing
to prevent Gregg Appliances from switching to Vonage or any other
tow-price carrier, as many small businesses have done.
- For all of these reasons, the merger is a good thing in my opinion.
An integrated network will lead to reduced costs and better services,
and competition will continue to exist
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed on this 13 day of April, 2005 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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_______________/s/________________
Bob Ellison
Chief Information Officer
Gregg Appliances Inc.
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Statement of John Novak - La Quinta Inns,
Inc.
- My name is John Novak. I am Chief Information Officer (CIO) for
La Quinta Inns, Inc. La Quinta operates more than 300 mid-si2ed hotels
across the United States. La Quinta's corporate headquarters are located
in Irving, Texas.
- I have been La Quinta's CIO for approximately four years. My responsibilities
include all matters related to technology support and implementation
for La Quinta, including computers and telecommunications capabilities.
I oversee the negotiations with, and selection of, the providers of
the telecommunications services that La Quinta needs.
- La Quinta purchases its telecommunications services from a variety
of providers. AT&T currently provides La Quinta with long-distance
service, local service (through AT&T Digital Link), and data services
(including Frame Relay and Internet Protocol). But AT&T is not
the only provider from which we purchase these services. For example,
La Quinta purchases some long-distance service from US LEG, and obtains
traditional wireline local service from US LEC, Qwest, BellSouth,
SBC, and McLeod. We also purchase Internet services from MCI, US LEC,
Time Warner, Signal Mountain (a satellite carrier), and SBC.
- La Quinta does not use AT&T as a provider for some types of
telecommunications services. MCI provides La Quinta with VPN (Virtual
Private Network) service. For wireless service, La Quinta uses Verizon.
Cingular, and Sprint PCS.
- This year, La Quinta invited interested carriers to submit bids
to provide us with Internet service. At the time we solicited bids,
La Quinta purchased most of its Internet service from AT&T. After
reviewing the bids, we decided that we would purchase Internet service
not only from AT&T, but also from MCI, US LEC, Signal Mountain,
and SBC.
- With respect to services other than Internet services, La Quinta
has contracted with a third party, Symphony Services, to assist it
in the selection of service providers. Symphony Services makes recommendations
to La Quinta as to which providers to select for the provision of
particular services, and conducts negotiations with prospective service
providers on behalf of La Quinta.
- La Quinta is frequently contacted by various telecommunications
carriers seeking to provide telecom services for us. These carriers
include not only our current service providers, but also a number
of other carriers from which we have not purchased any services to
date, such as Covad and Broadwing. The carriers who contact us seek
any business that they can get, including the services that AT&T
currently provides for La Quinta.
- La Quinta has a wide range of providers from which to choose for
the provision of the telecommunications services currently provided
by AT&T. As I have previously stated, La Quinta uses at least
one other service provider for virtually all of the services that
AT&T provides to us. In my opinion, MCI and Sprint are competitive
alternatives for any or all of the services that we receive from AT&T.
There are other carriers which could provide at least some, if not
all, of these services. For example, US LEC could provide some of
these services nationwide, and others in its service region. I believe
that Time Warner, which already provides us with Internet service,
could also provide at least the Frame Relay service that we currently
receive from AT&T.
- I have no concerns about the proposed merger between AT&T and
SBC. Consolidation is inevitable in the telecommunications industry.
Furthermore, the merger is likely to produce benefits for current
customers of AT&T and SBC, because it will enable the two companies
to fill "gaps" in their respective current service offerings. As a
result, a combined SBC and AT&T is likely to provide a full service
offering, allowing one-stop shopping by customers.
- I also have no concerns that proposed merger will affect the availability
of competitive alternatives to customers such as La Quinta. As I have
already discussed, there are numerous providers from which La Quinta
can choose to provide the types of services that AT&T provides
today. La Quinta already uses at least one other carrier (and, for
some services, several carriers) to provide most of the types of services
that it receives from AT&T. Other carriers who could provide all
or some of these services regularly contact La Quinta, seeking our
business. In the past, the availability of numerous alternatives has
enabled La Quinta to receive favorable terms from its telecom providers
by "playing off' one provider against the other. I do not believe
that this situation will change after the proposed merger takes place.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct
to the best of my knowledge.
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_______________/s/________________
John Novak
La Quinta Inns, Inc.
|
STATEMENT OF WILLIAM NOAKES (MEIJER, INC.)
- My name is William Noakes. I am Chief Information Officer for Meijer,
Inc. Meijer is a large privately-held retailer based in Grand Rapids,
Michigan that operates in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and
Ohio.
- Meijer spends approximately $9 million annually on telecommunication
services. The majority of that (around $4 to $5 million) is spent
on SBC local voice and data services. SBC also provides the last mile
for our communication services. The rest of the company's telecommunication
needs, mainly long distance, are provided by AT&T and Qwest.
- Meijer generally uses customized RFPs to assist in fulfilling our
telecommunication requirements. We may consider a wide-range of companies
for a particular service or project and eventually select a particular
company based on price, service and reliability. For example, we have
considered Qwest and MCI at various times for provision of our local
data services. Ultimately, we chose SBC based on the competitiveness
of the package it offered us. On the other hand, although SBC has
attempted to obtain our long distance business, we have not felt that
it was price competitive with AT&T and Qwest, the two current
providers of our long distance services. Moreover, SBC is net a known
for its long distance business and thus, we felt safer with companies
that are traditionally in that business.
- I am in favor of the SBC-AT&T merger. In my opinion, there will
not be any anticompetitive effect that results from the merger. It
is my belief that there is a difference in the services and products
for which enterprise customers, such as Meijer, use SBC and AT&T.
I believe that SBC is strong, competitive provider of local services
and has demonstrated to Meijer its ability to effectively provide
good data/network services. AT&T, on the other hand, is known
for its long distance services. Thus, there are strong synergies that
will likely result from the merger.
- There are also numerous other market factors that I believe ensure
that there is now and will continue to be competition in the telecom
arena. For example, enterprise customers are increasingly converging
telecommunications services around IP. This will also become increasingly
the case as companies try to reduce costs and manage the influx of
massive amounts of data. While the changeover has been somewhat slow
in occurring due to investments in legacy systems, I believe the future
for enterprise customers is in IP convergence. Meijer, for instance,
has already moved to web-based computing. The next issue for the company
is integrated voice and data. I believe that the merged SBC-AT&T
would have a greater capacity to provide our future needs of integrated
voice and data. This may, in my view, ultimately result in a greater
role of cable companies or others in the telecommunications industry
that will help maintain competition in the industry.
- The same is true for voice over IP (VoIP). Meijer has already moved
in the direction of replacing traditional voice services with VoIP.
Meijer has begun to ramp up its efforts in this area with AT&T
and to some extent with Qwest. Once the technology becomes more settled
and reliable, I would expect a massive shift to its use, and along
with that shift it would ensure there continues to be competition
for voice services among numerous players.
- Customers are also beginning to move to outsourcing IT and telecommunications
needs to integrators. About every two years, Meijer reviews whether
using an integrator would be cheaper and more efficient for the company.
This process typically involves Meijer hiring consultants to assist
us in structuring an RFP that we then send out to leading companies
such as Accenture, HP, and IBM to establish whether they are able
to provide services at a lower cost. Faced with increasing pressure
to reduce costs, the combined knowledge and capabilities of these
integrators ensures that enterprises such as Meijer have available
highly competitive pricing and product choices. Although we have in
the past decided against using such integrators, we do and will continue
to look at it as one among our various options in fulfilling the company's
telecommunication needs.
- In addition, Meijer is a sophisticated purchaser that will continue
to use multiple telecom providers. This helps us ensure both that
we always have reliable service in case there are problems with one
carrier or the other. It also guarantees that neither company will
grow complacent and will continue to attempt to compete for our business
on price, service, and overall quality. A good example of this is
Meijer's use of AT&T and Qwest, and long-distance services. AT&T
was at one point our lead provider of long distance services. Over
time, Meijer has increasingly relied upon Qwest for those services
both due to the competitive rates and service provided.
- I believe the combination of SBC and AT&T will provide a range
of synergies that will yield numerous benefits for Meijer and other
consumers.
- First, I believe the merger is likely to increase efficiency in
customer account servicing. Often the use of multiple carriers, though
desirable and available as an option in the marketplace, leads to
some confusion as to which company is responsible for any problems
in the system or service. If one company is providing everything then
it will reduce system integration, resolution time and finger pointing.
- Second, 1 believe the merger will lead to provision of a greater
array of services. Specifically, the merger with AT&T will allow
SBC to leverage the research capabilities that AT&T has to offer
more cutting edge products and services. It will also permit SBC to
enter the long distance and VoIP market, markets where I consider
them to currently be non-competitive.
- Third, the merger is likely to result in lower prices, in my opinion.
It is my hope, and I think the future will bear this out, that a single
company that is larger in terms of revenue but that becomes smaller
in the general services and administration costs needed to am the
company will result in lower prices to the consumer. I also believe
that the current market environment that has generated the mergers
will also eventually lead to international players entering the market
and competing with these companies, which will also result in lower
prices.
- For years, the telecommunications industry has been undergoing tremendous
change and I expect that to continue in the future. New products and
services are required by customers like Meijer every day. A combined
SBC and AT&T will result in Meijer having the best of both telecom
worlds under one roof. I expect that the efficiencies from such a
merger will lead to better opportunities for all customers.
- I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and
correct. Executed on this 24th day of March, 2005
in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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_______________/s/________________
William S. Noakes, Jr.
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David Watts Granite Construction
- My name is David Watts. I am the Director of Information Technology
for Granite Construction Incorporated ("Granite"). Granite is in the
business of heavy construction, and are best known nationwide for
our major transportation projects including roads, highways, tunnels,
bridges and airports. Granite also produces construction materials,
including sand, gravel, ready-mix and asphalt concrete. We are predominately
located in the western contiguous states (California, Utah and Nevada),
with our headquarters in Watsonville, CA. However, we have locations
throughout the country corresponding to the sites of our major projects
and permanent offices of subsidiary companies. Granite operates through
two divisions: the Branch Division which serves local markets in the
western United States and the Heavy Construction Division, which builds
larger jobs nationwide.
- Granite is a decentralized entity in that our Branches and Regional
Offices operate as individual profit centers. Each of our substantial
project sites and office locations require data and voice services.
As Director of IT, I oversee the telecommunications decisions involving
our headquarters in Watsonville, CA as well as specific sites within
the Branch Division. I also negotiate corporate agreements with vendors
for a variety of telecommunications services that all of our locations
have the option of joining.
- Currently SBC provides most of the local voice and data services
for our western locations (headquarters and Branch Division). Sprint
is our primary long distance provider. Our project operations rely
heavily on Nextel for cellular services, as they favor the push to
talk technology.
- Granite currently petitions out its telecommunications services
into separate RFPs. However, I have increasingly found this piecemeal
approach to be overly time-consuming on Granite's end and I believe
it can be less advantageous from a quality of product and service
point of view. Ideally, I would like to have one provider to cover
Granite's entire, or at least 90% of Granite's, geographic footprint.
I believe Granite would obtain more compatible services and, perhaps,
get better pricing through bundling. However, Granite's past practice
has been to not go with a single provider, based on my concern that
the financial viability of the traditional telcos has been somewhat
volatile over the last few years, but this is not ideal from my business
point of view.
- To the extent that consolidation is the marketplace will add stability
back into the telco space, I think it is both necessary and positive
in the Interest of better servicing national companies like Granite
that are looking for efficient and seamless telecommunications solutions.
- I believe that the proposed merger between SBC and AT&T would
be positive for Granite. I see SBC and AT&T as complementary
with SBC providing mostly local services and AT&T long distance.
Therefore, the combined entity would better enable us to leverage
our economies of scale. I am also keeping a close eye on IP telephony
and believe that the merger has the potential of providing us more
opportunities in this regard.
- The above represents my own personal viewpoint, belief and opinions
and down not necessarily express the viewpoint, belief and opinion
of Granite Construction Incorporated, its subsidiaries, Board of Directors,
officers or any other employee.
I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct to
the best of my knowledge.
_______________/s/________________
David V. Watts
Director of Information Technology
Granite Construction Incorporated
Date: 5/05/05
Executed at: _________
STATEMENT OF TODD WILLINGER
- I am the Vice President of I/T Infrastructure Engineering at ServiceMaster.
I have been in this position at ServiceMaster for just under 3 years.
In this position I am responsible for all architecture, design, build,
and deployment of infrastructure based technology. This includes all
telecommunications, networks, servers, storage, desktop/mobile computing,
and security services.
- ServiceMaster is a company that provides outsourced residential
services such as lawn service, pest control, HVAC, plumbing, home
warranty and housekeeping. It is one of the only national providers
of these vertical services. In this capacity, ServiceMaster purchases
various voice and data services from multiple providers. These services
include local access, LD, wide area networks, and other data transport
services. The vast majority of ServiceMaster's telecommunications
purchased are with SBC and AT&T. SBC provides ServiceMaster with
outbound LD service nationwide and local access service within its'
13 state footprint, while AT&T provides data transport service
and in-bound toll service. The remaining local access service outside
of SBC's footprint is provided by BellSouth, Verizon, Qwest and number
of CLECs.
- A good example of ServiceMaster's experience with the telecommunications
industry occurred at the end of 2004. At this time, ServiceMaster
sent out an RFP to multiple telecommunications carriers for all of
the outbound LD and inbound toll service that it purchases. We sent
the RFP to 6 carriers: AT&T, SBC, Sprint, MCI, Qwest, and BellSouth.
We could have sent the RFP to 15 or 20 more carriers, carries that
would include Broadwing, Global Crossing and Level 3, however we limited
the bidding for these services to 6 carriers to minimize the workload
involved in analyzing the responses. AT&T was awarded all of ServiceMaster's
toll service and wide area network, while SBC was chosen as the outbound
LD service provider.
- Currently in the marketplace there are more than a sufficient number
of alternative telecommunication providers for all types of services.
This competitive environment will not be endangered by the proposed
merger of SBC and AT&T. We view these two companies as complementary
in the provisioning of IXC and local services. Today, there is excess
capacity in the industry that consolidating two companies which provide
complementary services would benefit both suppliers and consumers.
Following the proposed merger, there will continue to be more than
a sufficient number of competitors in the telecommunications market
even with additional M&A activities within this industry.
I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct
to the best of my knowledge.
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_______________/s/________________
Todd Willinger
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STATEMENT OF PAT PATTERSON (MAZZIO'S CORPORATION)
- I am Vice President of Information Systems at Mazzio's Corporation.
Mazzio's operates about 80 restaurants, including Mazzio's Pizza,
mostly in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri, There are also
a few company-owned locations in other states, such as New Mexico
and Colorado. In addition, there are approximately 125 Mazzio's franchisee
locations, though they handle their own telecommunications needs.
I work at Mazzio's corporate headquarters in Tulsa.
- I do not have any competitive concerns about the merger between
SBC and AT&T. I view the merger as a combination of two large,
stodgy companies, but Mazzio's will still have sufficient competitive
options.
- For example, Cox Cable is a primary provider of voice and data services
to Mazzio's. We recently converted our data services from SBC to Cox.
In addition, Mazzio's uses Cox for local voice service in the areas
where Cox provides those services. Where Cox does not offer local
voice service, Mazzio's uses SBC and others, including Charter Cable.
- Similarly, Mazzio's recently switched its long distance voice service
to SBC. In addition to Mazzio's former long distance provider, AT&T,
other competitors who offer long distance services include MCI and
Sprint, among others.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct
to the best of my knowledge.
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_______________/s/________________
Pat Patterson
Mazzio's Corporation
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