AT&T; Seen Losing Call Revenue to Internet

AT&T; Corp. is expected to lose $350 million in sales from international phone calls in 2001 because more customers will place calls over the Internet, according to a report. Phillips Tarifica Ltd., a London-based consulting firm, said all U.S. phone companies combined will lose up to $925 million by 2001, with AT&T; having the biggest losses. AT&T; is the largest U.S. phone company, with about 57% of the $75-billion-a-year long-distance market. Phone companies will lose revenue as more customers use the Internet to place calls. That’s because Internet users typically pay a flat monthly fee or pay local phone rates to dial a local number to place their calls. They can then place calls or send e-mail messages anywhere in the world. The number of Internet users in the U.S. will almost quadruple to 44 million in 2001, up from about 12 million today.