Justice says it supports an FCC proposal.

The FCC’s proposal would allow AT&T; to sell telephones directly to individual and business customers. Under a 1980 decision, the FCC had required AT&T; to sell customer-premises equipment, such as phones and switchboards, through a subsidiary separate from its basic regulated communications services. The FCC now has proposed to relieve AT&T; of the separate subsidiary requirement for providing basic telephone service. “We believe the time has come for the commission to lift the requirement that AT&T; provide customer-premise equipment through a separate subsidiary,” said Charles F. Rule, acting assistant attorney general in charge of the antitrust division.