NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) April 24, 2001--Standard&Poor's today assigned its double-'A'-minus rating to SBC Communications Inc.'s $1.5 billion global senior unsecured notes due 2006. Proceeds will be used primarily to refinance commercial paper. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its ratings on SBC Communications and related entities (see list below). The outlook is stable. The ratings on SBC and its subsidiaries reflect the strong cash flows from the core telephone operating companies. The company's wireless business benefits from its partnership with BellSouth Corp. in Cingular Wireless LLC, which provides the company a larger footprint as well as increased scale economies for equipment purchases. Wireless operations are expected to be a significant growth vehicle for
