U.S. Supreme Court intervenes in suit against AT&T

BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhuanet) -- At the urging of the White House, the U.S. Supreme Court intervened Monday in a lawsuit by Internet service provider LinkLine Communications Inc. accusing AT&T of anti-competitive practices.

AT&T had asked the justices to step into the dispute over wholesale prices AT&T charges for high-speed service to Internet service providers who then compete with AT&T for retail Internet customers.

AT&T says it is under no obligation to deal with the Internet service providers and the lawsuit should be tossed for failing to state a valid legal claim.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit buys high-speed service from AT&T, combines it with other services and then sells Internet-access services that compete against AT&T.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled against AT&T, saying the telecom company was setting its wholesale prices so high the Internet service provider could not compete with the low prices AT&T charged in the retail market. The appeals court said federal courts have recognized such price squeeze allegations for six decades.

The case is Pacific Bell Telephone Co. d/b/a AT&T California v. LinkLine Communications Inc., 07-512.

(Agencies)