FCC Refuses to Bar AT&T; Promotional Giveaways

WASHINGTON — AT&T; Communications is entitled to give away discount coupons and rebates on rental cars and clothing to promote its long-distance phone service, the Federal Communications Commission ruled Thursday in denying protests by two competitors, GTE Sprint and Lexicom.

The competitors had petitioned the FCC to order AT&T; to drop its Opportunity Calling program, under which AT&T; long-distance customers can get a $1 rebate and discount coupons for each $1 of calls above $15 a month.

GTE argued that only AT&T; has enough market strength to offer such a program, making it anti-competitive. But the FCC was unimpressed, saying, “Sprint has not shown why other long-distance carriers are unable to promote their services in similar ways.”

Meanwhile, GTE Sprint asked the FCC to look into several issues surrounding “equal access”--the conversion of local phone exchanges so that they will accept all long-distance carriers’ calls as easily as they accept AT&T;’s.

One issue the FCC plans to investigate is “pre-subscription,” the process under which customers can designate a primary long-distance carrier. Most of the local phone companies, former AT&T; subsidiaries, leave to AT&T; any customers who fail to make a selection.