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Technology Stocks : IDT *(idtc) following this new issue?* -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: rest42 who wrote (3974)	4/8/1999 6:24:00 AM
From: rest42	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 30916

Is this the beginning of a war....Deutsche Telekom Plans 44% Connection Surcharge, Paper Says Bonn, April 8 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Telekom AG, Europe's No. 1 phone company, plans to charge start-up rivals who use its network a surcharge of as much as 44 percent on top of the interconnection rate of 2.7 pfennig per minute, the business daily Handelsblatt reported. Once rivals have created 38 interconnection points to the Telekom network, they will no longer be asked to pay the surcharge, the report said. The German phone regulator, which is currently negotiating with Telekom about the suggested fees, said it won't grant the company's request to charge some additional fees retroactive as of January 1998 but would allow charges from March, when the request was filed, through the end of this year. The fee will be reset at the beginning of next year. The interconnection fee that Telekom rivals have to pay to switch calls through the company's network helped shift the balance of power from companies building their own networks to smaller niche players who simply rent, such as MobilCom AG, Talkline and others. (Handelsblatt 7/4 25 and www.handelsblatt.de) 03:58:01 04/08/1999 For more stories from Bloomberg News, click here. (C) Copyright 1999 Bloomberg L.P. Any redistribution of Bloomberg content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Bloomberg L.P. Any reference to the material must be properly attributed to Bloomberg News. The information herein was obtained from sources which Bloomberg L.P. and its suppliers believe reliable, but they do not guarantee its accuracy. Neither the information, nor any opinion expressed, constitutes a solicitation of the purchase or sale of any securities or commodities.(C) Copyright 1999 Bloomberg L.P. BLOOMBERG, Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Financial Markets, Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg News Radio are trademarks, tradenames and service marks of Bloomberg L.P. ning of a war....

To: rest42 who wrote (3974)	4/8/1999 6:35:00 AM
From: rest42	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 30916

This should help.......AT&T Charging $3 Minimum Fee By DAVID E. KALISH .c The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) -- All of AT&T Corp.'s long-distance customers will soon receive a $3 minimum monthly charge, even if they don't make any long-distance calls. AT&T, which has 70 million long-distance customers, introduced a minimum monthly charge last August, charging the $3 to plan subscribers and new customers. In July, AT&T customers not currently signed up for one of the company's calling plans will also be assessed the monthly fee. About 10 million AT&T customers make less than $3 a month in calls. AT&T, the nation's largest telecommunications company, said it needs the money to cover the $300 million a year it costs to service infrequent callers. Minimum charges, until now, had been more limited. MCI WorldCom, the second largest long-distance company, also has a $3 monthly minimum for customers who don't use its promotional calling plans, but doesn't charge the fee to its remaining customers, a spokeswoman said. No. 3 Sprint, conversely, only charges a minimum fee to those who sign up for promotions. AT&T said it would waive the fee for some low-income customers. But consumer groups said charges are hurting those customers least able to afford it. ''AT&T's new minimum charge is the latest example of telecommunications deregulation run amok, driving up prices for millions of consumers,'' said Gene Kimmelman, of the Washington-based Consumers Union, in a statement. Kimmelman noted that other fees, ranging from $2-3 a month, already were instituted in the wake of telecommunications deregulation in 1996. AP-NY-04-07-99 0032EDT Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.