SBC Communications And Yahoo! Introduce Co-Branded Suite Of web hosting Services

Anonymous writes "New Web Hosting, e-commerce and e-mail services build on benefits of award-winning SBC Yahoo! DSL and Dial Business Edition with integrated features and additional bundled cost savings

San Antonio, Texas and Sunnyvale, California, January 28, 2004 Expanding their commitment to provide small businesses with powerful online tools and features that improve workplace productivity, enhance communications and reduce costs, SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC), through its Internet subsidiaries, and Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO) today made available a suite of new services that can be integrated with SBC Yahoo! DSL and Dial Business Edition to help companies establish a powerful online presence.

The new SBC Yahoo! Small Business offerings include:

SBC Yahoo! Web Hosting, which helps small and home-based companies quickly and economically build and maintain a professional Web site;
SBC Yahoo! Merchant Solutions, a comprehensive e-commerce solution that helps businesses build, manage and market an online store;
SBC Yahoo! Business Mail, which enables small businesses to create custom e-mail accounts based on domain names of their choice; and a
SBC Yahoo! Small Business Home Page, a comprehensive destination that provides everything small businesses need to establish themselves online.

The companies are also introducing Web Advantage, a new bundled offer that provides monthly discounts of up to 20 percent on qualifying SBC Yahoo! Small Business services for businesses that combine them with SBC Yahoo! DSL or Dial Business Edition; and Hosting Connections, a bundled offer that provides monthly discounts of up to 30 percent for businesses that also subscribe to SBC Yahoo! DSL or Dial Business Edition and a qualifying SBC voice plan.

For SBC companies, the new SBC Yahoo! Small Business services expand their flagship small business bundle, SBC Connections for Business, which enables customers to custom build a suite of services that meet their unique needs. For Yahoo!, the co-branded services raise awareness of its industry-leading solutions for small businesses and provide a powerful marketing and sales channel for Yahoo! Small Business products.

"SBC Yahoo! Small Business services equip small businesses to better serve their customers and streamline their operations with a professional Web presence that builds on the benefits of SBC Yahoo! DSL and Dial Business Edition," said Ray Wilkins, group president, SBC marketing and sales. "We are adding even more value to customers by expanding our bundled services to give small businesses a competitive advantage with discounted pricing, personalized service and the control to choose the service options that best meet their needs."

"The expansion of the successful SBC-Yahoo! relationship into the small business market is further proof of our ongoing commitment to provide small companies the services they need to be successful online," said Rich Riley, vice president and general manager of Yahoo! Small Business. "The new SBC Yahoo! Small Business services provide comprehensive, business class solutions from two trusted companies in one convenient location and leverage the combined strengths of Yahoo!'s industry leading small business services and the benefits of SBC Yahoo! DSL."

All of the SBC Yahoo! Small Business services can be conveniently accessed through a control panel that is integrated as a module in the SBC Yahoo! DSL and Dial Business Edition portal. Customers can save time by managing their entire online presence, and accessing their customized business content, communications tools and features, from one location. The companies are offering three key small business services:

SBC Yahoo! Web Hosting - Offers a choice of three plans that provide increasing levels of functionality to meet a variety of company needs. The service ranges in price from $8.37 a month (with a qualifying Hosting Connections discount) to $39.95 a month and includes the following tools and features:

Domain name with up to 35 business-branded e-mail accounts
Flexibility to use Yahoo! and industry standard Web design applications
Up to 350 MB of storage for files, images and other content
Up to 35 GB/month of data transfer/bandwidth
24-hour toll-free phone and online support
In-depth business reporting tools

SBC Yahoo! Merchant Solutions - Comprehensive e-commerce solutions are available in three plans (Intro, Enhanced, and Premium). Monthly prices range from $27.97 a month (with a qualifying Hosting Connections discount) with a 1.5 percent transaction fee up to $299.95 a month with a 0.75 percent transaction fee. The service includes all of the SBC Yahoo! Web Hosting Premium features, in addition to:

Shopping cart and checkout pages that automatically calculate tax and shipping charges
Catalog to organize product information and track inventory levels
Order management system to process, track and confirm status of orders
Merchandising tools such as coupons, automated cross-selling and gift certificates
Detailed product sales and Web site performance reporting
Special discounts on a range of marketing services

SBC Yahoo! Business Mail - Offers small businesses the opportunity to create custom e-mail addresses for monthly costs ranging from $6.97 (with a qualifying Hosting Connections discount) to $9.95. The plan includes:

5 custom e-mail accounts with 25 MB of storage each
Access to e-mail from a Web browser or POP mail client
SpamGuard junk mail protection
Ability to send up to 10 attachments per e-mail for a total of 10 MB per message
Easy e-mail archiving and access to old messages

Additionally, the companies continue to focus on delivering high levels of reliability and security to ensure Web site availability and help protect against unauthorized users and unforeseen events that could compromise customers' data.

SBC Yahoo! DSL Business Edition has also been named the best Internet Service Provider in Small Business Computing.com's 2004 Excellence in Technology Awards (www.smallbusinesscomputing.com). The publication's readers and editors selected the service from hundreds of products and services, distinguishing SBC Yahoo! DSL Business Edition as a top provider of broadband services for small- and medium-sized business.

SBC Yahoo! Small Business services and the new SBC bundled service discount offers are available immediately. To learn more about the comprehensive set of SBC Yahoo! Small Business services and SBC Yahoo! DSL and Dial Business Edition or to place an order, customers can visit http://smallbusiness.sbc.yahoo.com or call 1-866-SBC-YWEB (1-866-722-9932).

SBC Communications Inc. (www.sbc.com) is a diversified communications company, owning several of the world's leading data, voice and Internet services providers. Through world-class networks, SBC companies provide a full range of voice, data, networking and e-business services, as well as directory advertising and publishing. A Fortune 30 company, SBC Communications Inc. owns America's leading provider of high-speed DSL Internet Access Transport services and one of the nation's leading Internet Service Providers. SBC companies currently serve 55 million access lines nationwide. In addition, SBC companies own 60 percent of America's second-largest wireless company, Cingular Wireless, which serves more than 24 million wireless customers. Internationally, SBC companies have telecommunications investments in 26 countries.

Yahoo! Inc. is a leading provider of comprehensive online products and services to consumers and businesses worldwide. Yahoo! is the No. 1 Internet brand globally and the most trafficked Internet destination worldwide. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Yahoo!'s global network includes 25 World properties and is available in 13 languages.

Web Advantage discount available only to SBC Yahoo! Internet Access service (DSL or Dial) customers who also purchase one or more qualifying SBC Yahoo! Small Business service(s) (i.e., SBC Yahoo! Business Mail, SBC Yahoo! Web Hosting, or SBC Yahoo! Merchant Solutions). Discount applies to SBC Yahoo! Small Business service(s) monthly charges only so long as customer retains SBC Yahoo! Internet Access service; if customer terminates SBC Yahoo! Internet Access service, monthly charges for SBC Yahoo Small Business service(s) revert to 100% of then-existing monthly rates for such service(s).

Hosting Connections discount available only to SBC Yahoo! Internet Access service customers who also subscribe to a qualifying voice plan from an SBC affiliate local telephone company and purchase one or more qualifying SBC Yahoo! Small Business service(s) (i.e., SBC Yahoo! Business Mail, SBC Yahoo! Web Hosting, or SBC Yahoo! Merchant Solutions). Discount applies to SBC Yahoo! Small Business service(s) monthly charges only so long as customer retains SBC Yahoo! Internet Access service and qualifying voice plan; if customer terminates SBC Yahoo! Internet Access service and qualifying voice plan, monthly charges for SBC Yahoo Small Business service(s) revert to 100% of then-existing monthly rates for such service(s); if customer terminates only the qualifying voice plan and retains SBC Yahoo! Internet Access service, a lesser discount may still apply.

To be eligible for the discounts, customer must subscribe to Internet Access and Small Business services using the same SBC Yahoo! User ID. Discounts applicable only to qualifying SBC Yahoo! Small Business service(s) monthly fees and set up fees; SBC Yahoo! Merchant Solutions transaction fees, other applicable transaction fees and SBC Yahoo! Small Business add-on products (such as additional email accounts, extra mail storage, extra web storage, etc.), if selected, are not eligible for discounts and will be assessed at their regular rate. Discounts may not be combined with any other offer or discount, exchanged, or redeemed for cash. Yahoo! Small Business services are not eligible for these offers. See full terms during registration and enrollment. SBC and Yahoo! reserve the right to modify or discontinue these offers without notice.

SBC Yahoo! DSL is an information service that combines DSL transport, Internet access and applications from SBC Internet Services, with customized content, services, and applications from Yahoo! Inc., and is not available in all areas. Local voice service is provided by your local SBC telephone company. Long Distance service is provided by SBC Long Distance.

Yahoo!, the Yahoo! logos and other product and service names are the trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Yahoo! Inc. SBC, the SBC logos and other related product and service names are the trademarks and/or registered trademarks of SBC Knowledge ventures, L.P. All other brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright © 2004 SBC Knowledge Ventures, L.P. and Yahoo! Inc. All Rights Reserved. "