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AT&T raises rates
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June 1, 2001: 3:19 p.m. ET
No. 1 U.S. long-distance provider claims rates still lower than MCI, Sprint
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - AT&T Corp., the No. 1 U.S. long-distance provider, raised its basic residential long-distance rates Friday.
AT&T raised its weekday (Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.) rate to 30 cents a minute from 29.5 cents, its weeknight rate to 25 cents from 22.5 cents, and its Saturday and Sunday rates to 16 cents from 14.5 cents. The new rates take effect July 1.
"In taking this action, we wanted to be fair to our customers. That is why some of the increases are very slight," said Robert M. Aquilina, senior vice president of long-distance for AT&T Consumer. "More important, our new basic rates continue to be the lowest, on average, of the major long-distance carriers."
AT&T (T: up $0.46 to $21.63, Research, Estimates) said it had left rates unchanged for a year and claimed WorldCom (WCOM: up $0.17 to $18.01, Research, Estimates) unit MCI and Sprint FON Group (FON: up $0.54 to $20.85, Research, Estimates), its major competitors, "have raised their basic rates several times" in the past year.
AT&T encouraged customers to research its various calling plans, including plans that allow callers to pay 10 cents a minute on Saturdays or Sundays, pay a flat rate of 17.5 cents every day of the week, or get discounts by paying their bill online. 
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AT&T
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