carols@drilex.dri.mgh.com (Carol Springs) (10/15/90)
From the "Bits & Bytes" section of the October 22 {Business Week},
edited by John W. Verity:
A Big Cut for Big Business' Overseas Phone Bills
Most foreign phone companies routinely overcharge for calls Americans
make to their countries by laying on large "call-completion" fees.
Those charges make up about half of the roughly $2 billion deficit the
U.S. runs in international calling ... Now [AT&T] has arranged for
future reductions of up to 50% on completion fees on its calls to
Britain, Australia, France, Japan, Canada, and Belgium.
AT&T negotiated the lower rates for companies that run custom phone
networks on its circuits. AT&T's Ray Butkus, director of
international business services, says it was helped by multinational
companies that asked foreign phone companies for concessions. MCI and
Sprint are expected to demand equal cuts for their customized
networks. Still, custom networks are for heavy callers. Little guys
still pay the full bill.
Carol Springs carols@drilex.dri.mgh.com