NATION : MCI Sues AT&T; Over Ad Efforts
From Times Staff and wire service reports
WASHINGTON —
MCI Communications Corp. filed suit today against American Telephone & Telegraph Co., claiming that AT&T; was trying to protect its eroding share of the long-distance market through maliciously false and deceptive advertising.
The U.S. District Court suit charges that beginning in January this year, AT&T; launched a counterattack against its competitors to regain market share and that in July it began targeting MCI’s new Primetime cut-rate long-distance calling plan.
The suit said AT&T; advertising “maliciously attacked MCI’s honesty and the value of MCI’s competing services by falsely and deceptively representing that AT&T; was superior to its competitors in general.
