AT&T TRYING TO BLOCK BRITISH CARRIER IN U.S.

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 16, 1993                   TAG: 9304160256
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium
AT&T TRYING TO BLOCK BRITISH CARRIER IN U.S.
American Telephone & Telegraph Co. sought Thursday to block Britain's largest long-distance carrier from setting up business in the United States unless AT&T gets equal access to Britain.
In comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission, AT&T asked federal regulators to withhold permission for British Telecom North America to serve other countries from the United States.
AT&T also applied to British authorities Thursday for a license to offer service from that country to the United States and within Britain.
In addition, AT&T asked the Clinton administration to develop a coordinated policy for competition in the global telecommunications industry.
"We're asking for access to customers in the United Kingdom that's comparable to what British Telecom is seeking here in the United States," said John Berndt, president of business services for AT&T, the nation's largest long-distance carrier.
In the meantime, he said, British Telecom should be blocked from operating in the United States.
Sprint, the United States' third-largest long-distance carrier, is filing similar comments with the FCC and has had a license application pending in Britain since January 1992.
Today is the deadline for reacting to British Telecom's request.
AT&T owns about 60 percent of the U.S. long-distance business and is the world's largest telecommunications company.
AT&T has partnerships with the telephone companies in many countries to give business clients as expansive a service as possible. But Berndt said British Telecom, which has 90 percent of Britain's long-distance business, has been particularly difficult to deal with.
The British government doesn't systematically regulate what British Telecom charges competitors for completing calls on its network, said Berndt. "Every would-be competitor has to try negotiating access terms with BT on its own. And of course BT has every incentive not to grant access except on its own terms."

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB