AT&T; May Face Fines, Lawsuits Over Call Fees

AT&T; Corp. may face fines and lawsuits because it avoided paying $355 million in call-connection and telephone-subsidy fees related to its prepaid calling cards, the top U.S. communications regulator said.

AT&T; said in May that it withheld the payments because it didn’t believe the cards were subject to the fees.

The Federal Communications Commission will decide soon whether it agrees, FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell wrote in a July 2 letter to Michigan Rep. John D. Dingell, the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

If the FCC rejects AT&T;’s stance, local phone companies may seek to recover unpaid fees through state courts, and the agency would consider fining the company, Powell wrote.

Shares of Bedminster, N.J.-based AT&T; rose 86 cents, or 6%, to $15.23 on the New York Stock Exchange.