New York, July 29: AT&T plans to submit fresh evidence on Monday in support of allegations WorldCom diverted to Canada phone calls placed by US government agencies in order to dodge hefty fees, an AT&T source said. The filing, to be submitted in a Manhattan bankruptcy court, claims WorldCom, which plans to change its name to MCI, had diverted some long-distance phone calls to Canada in a scheme that passed off charges it would normally pay to competitors, including AT&T.
"The access charges that MCI should be paying as a normal course of its business is being foisted on AT&T and its balance sheet," the source said.
Analysts have said both long-distance and local telephone carriers are hoping Worldcom fails in its bid to emerge from bankruptcy protection, which will free the No. 2 US long-distance telephone carrier of most of its debt and likely place it in a better position to compete.
WorldCom representatives were not immediately available for comment. The company recently received a subpoena from New York prosecutors for documents related to access fees which carriers pay each other to connect calls.
Bureau Report