On Sept. 15, 2006, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said it expects to affirm the ratings for AT&T Inc., Cingular Wireless LLC and BellSouth Corp., including their respective 'A' long-term credit ratings and the 'A-1' short term credit ratings of AT&T Inc. and BellSouth, if the merger of AT&T Inc. and BellSouth is consummated under the contemplated terms. Pending the closing of the merger, ratings for all three entities remain on CreditWatch with negative implications. Including debt at Cingular Wireless LLC, the combined company would have had about $63 billion of reported debt at June 30, 2006. The ratings on BellSouth and AT&T Inc. were placed on CreditWatch with negative implications on Jan. 13, 2006, reflecting Standard&Poor's perception
