AT&T; will help build a second transatlantic...

AT&T; will help build a second transatlantic fiber-optic cable that will be 28% owned by AT&T; with the rest shared by 31 co-owners. These include domestic rivals MCI Communications and U S Sprint Communications, plus telecommunications agencies in Canada, Mexico, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. AT&T; was awarded a $170 million contract to build half of the undersea cable, which will run from Manahawkin, N.J., and Pennant Point in Canada to Goonhilly in the United Kingdom, St. Hilaire in France and Conil, Spain. The link, which will be completed in 1991, will be able to carry the equivalent of 80,000 simultaneous conversations.