Duane Ackerman Quotations

We're generating solid growth across all areas of our business. Our core telecommunications business is showing excellent growth in data services for business customers, and in additional lines and calling features for consumers.

Results for the quarter remained strong despite extraordinary challenges we faced with Hurricane Katrina.

Valencia has done an excellent job of building and guiding a very thoughtful and effective diversity and inclusion strategy at our company. Her long history of service at BellSouth and in the community combined with her breadth of business knowledge makes her a tremendous asset to this Board.

We truly stand at the beginning of a great new day for communications.

Technology changes and convergence are shaping a new competitive dynamic and creating tremendous opportunity. We're creating a company with much better capabilities to seize these opportunities while maintaining its strong focus on customer service and community involvement. This was the right time for this merger. This combination is good for our employees, our customers and our stockholders.

It is market based, and that's the bottom line.

The investments we're making, and the way we're executing our growth strategies, continue to pay off. In 1998 we invested a record $7 billion in our businesses, and we continue to generate powerful revenue growth from sources such as data, wireless, Internet, enhanced calling features, and digital television.

Reducing workforce is the toughest business decision a company has to make. We have worked hard to avoid it, but many companies our size and particularly our competitors operate with lower overhead and fewer management layers.

During my most recent visit two weeks ago, I was struck by the destruction that still remains.

This was the right time for this merger. This combination is good for our employees, our customers and our stockholders.