PHOENIX (September 27, 2001) The Arizona Telecommunications and Information Council (ATIC) has launched the Arizona Telecommunications Directory (ATD - http://www.arizonatele.com/), an innovative online portal and tool for identifying Arizona telecommunications providers and their service offerings around the state. Residential and business users can search for the availability of a wide range of telecom services by location and then link to profiles of individual telecom providers, their contact information, and related resources. Supported by a wide-range of industry and economic development organizations, the Arizona Telecom Directory is a unique resource for identifying telecommunications service options and driving economic development activity.

The ground-breaking Arizona Telecom Directory enables access to critical telecommunications information and provider contacts for Arizona businesses and residents, as well as out-of-state companies interested in relocating and growing here. The Arizona Telecommunications Directory consists of a web portal, a convenient user interface for access, and an extensive database-driven directory that identifies and profiles some 150 Arizona telecom providers, including their services and resources, accessible by geographic criteria (i.e. - county, community or zip code). The State of Arizona through DOC and GITA, as well as numerous economic development organizations and community groups are actively promoting and linking to the Arizona Telecom Directory (http://www.arizonatele.com/) and it is expected to be widely used by a broad audience.

Major Sponsors of the directory include Cox Business Services (http://www.coxbusiness.com/systems/az_phoenix/), Intel Corporation (http://www.intel.com/), Opnix Inc. (http://www.opnix.com/), Salt River Project (http://www.srpnet.com/), and The Business Journal (http://phoenix.bcentral.com/phoenix/). Additional Sponsors are the Arizona Department of Commerce (DOC), Arizona Government Information Technology Agency (GITA), City of Mesa, City of Phoenix, City of Tucson, Greater Yuma Economic Development Corp., International Research Center, PrecisionPros.com, Tempe Tech Oasis, the University of Arizona, and WinStar Telecommunications.

ATIC engaged International Research Center to produce the directory under the oversight of a special committee co-chaired by Brad Tritle of GITA and Ralph Gierish of Systems Integration & Information Management. A number of additional telecom providers are in the process of being added and ongoing updates are planned to keep this resource as accurate and current as practical. The directory also provides pointers to extensive resources on other sites including other directories, maps, and information on telecom technologies and infrastructure. Additional telecom service categories and full visual mapping of services and associated assets in the state of Arizona may be added in the future.

About Arizona Telecommunications and Information Council (ATIC):
The Arizona Telecommunications and Information Council (ATIC - http://www.researchedge.com/atic/) is an economic development foundation of the Governor's Strategic Partnership for Economic Development (GSPED - http://www.commerce.state.az.us/gsped/). ATIC functions as Arizona's recognized and authoritative organization guiding technology policy development and serves as a leading source of information and expertise on telecommunications and information technology matters. ATIC's Arizona Telecommunications Directory (ATD - http://www.arizonatele.com/) is an online portal offering business and residential consumers detailed information about Arizona telecommunications providers and their service offerings. ATIC's extensive calendar of Arizona telecom, technology, and economic development events can be found online at http://www.researchedge.com/atic/calendar.html or received via e-mail by request. For further information, contact ATIC at 602-254-5887 or atic@researchedge.com.