On Oct. 27, 2004, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'A' rating to regional Bell operating company (RBOC) SBC Communications Inc.'s (SBC) proposed aggregate $4.5 billion in global notes with maturities in 2009, 2014, and 2034. Proceeds will be used to refinance commercial paper and other short-term borrowings. Such funds were incurred to initially finance a portion of SBC's share of the recent purchase by Cingular Wireless LLC (Cingular) of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. (AWE). Existing ratings on SBC (A/Negative/A-1) and related entities were affirmed. The rating on SBC reflects the substantial net free operating cash flow that is expected to continue to be generated by its wireline business, which provides substantial flexibility to continue to reduce overall debt
