BEDMINSTER, N.J. – AT&T BusinessDirect^®, AT&T’s customer support, service and management Web portal, has been awarded its second, consecutive TMC Labs Innovation Award from Customer Interaction Solutions magazine.  AT&T eBill, the portal’s electronic billing tool, was specifically recognized for its ability to give users greater visibility and control over their billing process. 

“This is the second year in a row that we have recognized AT&T for its innovative approach to electronic customer service and support,” said TMC President Rich Tehrani.  “By giving users a view into their own network, AT&T empowers customers with real-time, end-to-end visibility that helps businesses manage their networks, cut costs and save time.  This unique access, coupled with a collection of innovative tools, such as AT&T eBill, earned AT&T this honor.”

AT&T eBill allows customers to analyze billing data on a location-by-location or circuit-by-circuit basis, to make inquiries, to request billing adjustments, and to pay their bills electronically.  The TMC Labs judges were impressed with AT&T eBill’s innovative capabilities, including the ability for users to integrate billing processes from multiple locations and the billing tool’s online resolution functionality.

“Delivering the best customer experience is a top priority for AT&T,” said Bob Sloan, AT&T eSales & Service vice president.  “A key aspect ofour approach to electronic service and support is to provide our customers the networking tools they need to meet their communications and overall business needs.  User feedback, as well as the ever-increasing portal adoption rate, are both key indicators that we’re on the right track.”

The TMC Labs Innovation Awards recognize the best and the most unique products and services for customer interaction solutions. The panel of judges researched hundreds of products and chose the top applications that demonstrate leadership in areas, such as providing users with innovative features and functionality, improving the customer experience, and delivering a clear return on investment back to the organization.

Customers find value in the simple and intuitive means AT&T BusinessDirect provides to support and manage their network infrastructure.  It allows them to spend their time more efficiently and place greater emphasis on business-critical activities and less time monitoring their network. Each month, roughly 458,000 businesses conduct approximately 2.9 million transactions using AT&T BusinessDirect. Customer transactions through the portal – including ordering and maintenance inquiries – increased 12 percent last year. 

About TMC™

Since 1972, Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC™ ) has produced industry-leading trade magazines and events focused on technology and telecommunications. TMC™ publishes two magazines: Customer Inter@ction Solutions™ and Internet Telephony (R), and the online publications, WifiTelephony.com, The VoIP Developer Channel, Planet PDA™  Magazine and BiometriTech™ Magazine. TMC™ is also the first publisher to test new products in its own on-site laboratories, TMC Labs™ , and provide factual and unbiased product reviews.  TMC produces INTERNET TELEPHONY(R) Conference & Expo, The VoIP Developer Conference™, Speech-World Conference, IP Contact Center Summit, WiMAXcon, and The Global Call Center Outsourcing Summit™. TMCnet.com publishes more than 25 topical online newsletters. For more information about TMC, visit its Web site at www.tmcnet.com.