AT&T; to Boost Fees for Low-Income Subsidy

AT&T; Corp. will raise by one-sixth the fee on the long-distance phone bills of more than 50 million U.S. residential customers to cover its obligation to a government subsidy system.

The largest U.S. long-distance carrier will increase to 11.5% the charge added to monthly bills of its customers, up from 9.9%, to fund the $5.5-billion account that ensures that low-income and rural consumers get phone service, said spokeswoman Claudia Jones.

The Federal Communications Commission says carriers such as AT&T;, WorldCom Inc. and Sprint Corp. should deposit 6.81% of third-quarter revenue into the subsidy system. AT&T; said that beginning today, it must assess a higher fee on its customers to compensate for a decline in sales.

Shares of AT&T; fell 4 cents to close at $18.14 on the New York Stock Exchange.