Wednesday, August 1, 2001

In the "Letter to the Editor" section of your newspaper dated Wednesday, July 25, 2001, I read the opinion piece entitled "AT&T's auto-pay is wrong" written by Mr. Jim Lowe. I would like to take this opportunity to respond to his concerns regarding the auto-payment program recently implemented by AT&T Broadband-Atlanta.

As we continue to evolve our customer care program, we strive to offer new and innovative programs and services that make it easier for our customers to do business with us. This new automated payment program gives our customers a convenient and optional way to pay their bill 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If a customer chooses to make a payment by phone, they can call 678-545-BILLS and press the selection for automated services. The voice prompt will take them directly to the opening menu. This service does not require the customer to speak with a customer care professional; therefore, it eliminates any on-hold time they may have experienced in the past. And for our customers that prefer to make a payment on-line, they can simply point their browser to https://www.paybyinternet.com/attb.

We believe the convenience this service offers is well worth the small $1.50 transaction fee, which is paid to a third party automated service provider not AT&T Broadband. In fact, after using this service, a customer's statement will reflect two transactions: a payment to AT&T Broadband for services and a separate transaction fee to the automated service provider.

Again, let me reiterate that the auto-payment system is completely an optional service. We gladly accept other traditional payment methods such as cash or check at one of our cable store locations or by mailing a payment through the postal service.

I hope that I have answered any questions about our new payment program and, I believe that AT&T Broadband-Atlanta customers will find this optional service very convenient, should they chose to use it.

Steve White,

Senior Vice President

AT&T Broadband-Atlanta

Cindy Kicklighter

Manager of Communications

AT&T Broadband-Atlanta

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