EMBARQ(TM) Wholesale Earns Three 'Best-In-Class' Awards Organization's 'Service Wins' philosophy being recognized by customers

DALLAS, Oct. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- After earning "high marks from customers," EMBARQ(TM) Wholesale has earned three national "Best-in-Class" awards, according to ATLANTIC-ACM, a leading telecommunications research consultancy and benchmarking firm.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060516/EMBARQLOGO)

Presenting the awards at the CompTel PLUS Convention & Expo in Dallas, ATLANTIC-ACM today recognized EMBARQ(TM) Wholesale for excellence in three key areas: Provisioning, Service Level Agreements and Integrated PRI (broadband).

"EMBARQ received high marks from customers, who gave them the highest average score across all service categories among incumbent local exchange carriers including the former Bell companies," said Fedor Smith, vice president, ATLANTIC-ACM. "They truly distinguished themselves in the Provisioning category, receiving the Best-In-Class award by a substantial margin. Timely and efficient provisioning has a major impact on customer satisfaction, and clearly, EMBARQ's customers are very happy."

Bill Cheek, president of EMBARQ(TM) Wholesale Markets, accepted the awards on behalf of the company.

"These awards represent the hard work and dedication of our entire organization," Cheek said. "We live by the 'Service Wins' philosophy, and these three distinctions represent the emphasis we place on practical ingenuity and providing the most reliable Wholesale portfolio available. I am proud to accept them on behalf of our entire team."

The Wholesale Best-In-Class Awards are derived from the 2007 Metro Report Card.

About the Metro Report Card

ATLANTIC-ACM's 2007 Metro Report Card includes data on metro services buyers and their preferences, metro carrier performance, products offered by carriers and key market data in the metro space. Wholesale respondent verticals include RBOCs/ILECs, CLECs, and Metro/Regional Fiber-based companies. Some 850 individuals responded to the survey, which yielded 1,307 wholesale carrier ratings. On average, respondents rated 3.53 metro service providers.

About ATLANTIC-ACM

Boston-based ATLANTIC-ACM is a leading provider of strategic research and consulting services serving the telecommunications and information industries. In addition to producing the industry's principal benchmarking, sizing and opportunity studies, the company assists clients in evaluating telecommunications opportunities for successful investment, market entry, and long-term planning. For more information, visit ATLANTIC-ACM's website at http://www.atlantic-acm.com/.

About EMBARQ

Embarq Corporation , headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., offers a complete suite of common-sense communications services. The company has approximately 19,000 employees and operates in 18 states. EMBARQ is included in the S&P 500. For consumers, EMBARQ offers an innovative portfolio of services that includes reliable local and long distance home phone service, high-speed Internet, wireless, and satellite TV from DISH Network(R) -- all on one monthly bill. For businesses, EMBARQ has a comprehensive range of flexible and integrated services designed to help businesses of all sizes be more productive and communicate with their customers. This service portfolio includes local voice and data services, long distance, Business-Class DSL, wireless, enhanced data network services, voice and data communication equipment and managed network services. EMBARQ believes that by focusing on the communities the company serves and by employing common sense and practical ingenuity, it is able to provide customers with a committed partner, dedicated customer service and innovative products for work and home. For more information, visit http://www.embarq.com/.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060516/EMBARQLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Embarq Corporation

CONTACT: Tom Matthews of Embarq Corporation, 1-919-696-7991,
Tom.r.Matthews@embarq.com

Web site: http://www.embarq.com/
http://www.atlantic-acm.com/