GTE Targeting Small Businesses With Rates

GTE is targeting small businesses with flat rates of 9 cents to 10 cents per minute for calls within California and 14 cents to 15 cents per minute for the rest of the country. International calls will also be billed at single rates for any location in the country regardless of the time of day. GTE, a local exchange carrier for parts of Southern California, has offered long-distance service in the state since July, mostly to large business customers. The new plans represent GTE’s first effort to target the fast-growing small-business sector, said Rob McCoy, president of GTE Long Distance in Irving, Texas. Plans aimed at residential customers will be announced in mid-January, he said.