AT&T; Will Raise Customer Charges 15%

AT&T; Corp. said Wednesday it will boost by 15% customer charges for contributions to a phone service fund after the Federal Communications Commission ordered an increase in fees paid by long-distance companies.

Starting Monday, the No. 1 U.S. long-distance phone company will raise the monthly universal connectivity charge to 9.9% of state-to-state and international long-distance calls from 8.6%, spokesman Mark Siegel said.

The increase covers a boost the FCC ordered this month in the amount long-distance companies are assessed to subsidize phone service for poor customers and those in rural communities, Siegel said.

The FCC blocked a 50% increase AT&T; proposed in October 1999. The company then raised fees 39%.

“We fear that this is a back-door rate increase,” said Gene Kimmelman, co-director of Consumers Union’s Washington office. “There’s been a history of inflating the charges above legitimate costs, and I’m concerned that may be happening again.”

Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine and critic of earlier AT&T; fee increases, will ask the FCC to investigate whether the company is overcharging customers, Kimmelman said.

WorldCom Inc., the second-biggest U.S. long-distance company, said it hasn’t decided on any changes to fees it collects for universal service programs. “We collect no more and no less than we owe the government,” spokeswoman Claire Hassett said. The company charges 8.3% for interstate and international calls, she said.

Sprint Corp., the No. 3 long-distance phone company, also hasn’t decided on any new charges, a spokeswoman said.

An FCC representative wasn’t available to comment.

AT&T; in June boosted rates for basic long-distance phone service as much as 26%, two weeks after regulators and consumer groups criticized a proposal to raise rates as much as 80%.

The latest increase applies to the fees added to a customer’s bill to support several government programs, such as helping schools and libraries add Internet connections.

The FCC in a Dec. 8 order said it will need to collect $1.35 billion for universal service programs next quarter, a 14% increase from the current quarter.

Shares of New York-based AT&T; fell 56 cents to $17.06 on the New York Stock Exchange. They have fallen by two-thirds this year.