AT&T; Sues Internet Providers

AT&T; Corp. sued six Internet service providers for $7 million in damages, claiming the companies skipped out on bills for AT&T;’s toll-free calling service. The nation’s largest long-distance phone company charged Riverside-based ICB Telecommunications, its Connect America unit, and four of its affiliates with telecommunications fraud. AT&T; said ICB and Connect America resold the toll-free service to the other ISPs, which sell Internet access to consumers, for a profit. New York-based AT&T; also said the companies continued to set up new accounts under fictitious names after their original accounts were restricted because of lack of payment. The other companies named in the suit include Westlake Village-based Franklin Telecommunications; Global Pacific Internet of Orange; OneSource Communications of Irving, Texas; and Advanced Internet Providers of Ann Arbor, Mich. Global Pacific, OneSource and Advanced Internet are all closely held. ICB executives refused to comment, while representatives from the closely held companies weren’t available to comment. Franklin President and Chief Executive Frank Peters said his company, through its Franklin Internet subsidiary, had an agreement to buy toll-free numbers from Connect America and shouldn’t have been named in the suit. It was Franklin that first discovered the problem and reported it to AT&T;, he said. AT&T; executives declined to comment on Franklin’s claims.