SAN ANTONIO New Contract Expands Existing Relationship to Meet Provena Health Voice and Data Communications Needs

SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC) today announced a new contract with Illinois-based Provena Health, an organization with a network of healthcare facilities and offices located throughout Northern Illinois.

Under the terms of the contract, SBC companies will deliver a comprehensive upgrade of the Provena Health data network infrastructure across the organization’s enterprise, which includes six acute-care hospitals; 16 long-term care and residential centers; 28 primary care, specialty and diagnostic clinics; and five home-health agencies.

The contract also covers a range of long-distance voice and data services, SBC PremierSERV(SM) Managed Service offerings, and the implementation of a Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) backbone. The network upgrade is designed to help position Provena Health for emerging technologies such as IP-based voice and video services, to prepare the organization to adopt centralized Picture Archive and Communication Systems (PACS), and to help address regulatory requirements related to HIPAA and business continuity planning.

«Because of our commitment to clinical quality and advanced clinical applications, we were looking for a single provider that could help us to implement a secure, reliable, and scalable networking infrastructure,» said Jonathan Manis, CIO, Provena Health. «We’ve been extremely pleased with the communications services offered by SBC companies, and our close relationship with SBC companies positions us to take full advantage of our investment in high-bandwidth, mission-critical clinical support applications.»

«We are pleased to have the opportunity to help Provena Health with a comprehensive network upgrade,» said Cathy Coughlin, president, Business Communications Services, SBC Midwest. «Provena Health’s decision to utilize a full range of SBC services demonstrates our ability to deliver a comprehensive and integrated range of managed voice, data, and IP solutions to meet the communications needs of businesses of all sizes.»

About Provena Health

Provena Health is a Catholic health system that includes six hospitals, 16 long-term care and senior residential facilities, 28 clinics, five home-health agencies and other health-related activities operating in Illinois and Indiana.

About SBC

SBC Communications Inc. is a Fortune 50 company whose subsidiaries, operating under the SBC brand, provide a full range of voice, data, networking, e-business, directory publishing and advertising, and related services to businesses, consumers and other telecommunications providers. SBC holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which serves 25 million wireless customers. SBC companies provide high-speed DSL Internet access lines to more American consumers than any other provider and are among the nation’s leading providers of Internet services. SBC companies also now offer satellite TV service. Additional information about SBC and SBC products and services is available at www.sbc.com.

SBC PremierSERV Managed Services provided by SBC DataComm. SBC local service provided by SBC Illinois. SBC, the SBC logo and other product names are trademarks of SBC Knowledge Ventures, L.P. (C) 2004 SBC Knowledge Ventures, L. P. All rights reserved.