AT&T; Complaint Targets Bell Atlantic Practices

AT&T; Corp., the No. 1 U.S. long-distance telephone provider, filed a formal complaint with regulators against rival Bell Atlantic Corp. for allegedly steering New York customers unfairly to its own new long-distance telephone service. Bell Atlantic, now part of No. 1 U.S. local phone company Verizon Communications, told customers only about its own long-distance service and not about other carriers available, as required by federal regulations, AT&T; said. AT&T; urged the Federal Communications Commission to prohibit Bell Atlantic from marketing its long-distance service to inbound callers until it develops a compliance plan and hires an independent compliance officer. Verizon flatly rejected the charges and said they were an attempt to shift blame for AT&T;’s poor long-distance performance. AT&T; closed unchanged at $33, while Verizon closed down 69 cents at $54.69, both on the New York Stock Exchange. Both companies are based in New York.