AT&T; Asks FCC to Revisit Sprint-Telmex Deal

AT&T; Corp. asked the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its decision to let the Sprint Corp.-Telefonos de Mexico joint venture offer long-distance phone service from the U.S., on grounds that the deal would thwart competition on the U.S.-Mexico phone route. AT&T; believes that Telmex is using its position as the dominant Mexican phone company to charge U.S. long-distance companies inflated rates for completing calls in Mexico. Telmex collects about $875 million a year in call-completion charges from U.S. companies--five times more than the company’s actual costs, according to AT&T.; Furthermore, AT&T; says, the venture shouldn’t be allowed to resell Sprint’s long-distance service in the U.S. because U.S. phone companies don’t have the same opportunity to resell phone services to customers in Mexico. The FCC last week said Sprint and Telmex had adequately demonstrated that rivals have equal opportunities to compete. On the NYSE, shares of Westwood, Kan.-based Sprint gained 44 cents to close at $69.69; Basking Ridge, N.J.-based AT&T; gained 6 cents to close at $57.