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Let Your Fingers Do the Dialing and Your
Lawyers Do the Filing.
AT&T Corp. has filed a lawsuit contending
that Sprint Corp. and two other rival telephone companies are stealing
calls from AT&T toll-free operators through what is termed a "fat-finger
dialing" scheme.
Where do they come up with this stuff?
In the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, AT&T says
Sprint, along with One Call Communications and ASC Telecom are pirating
potential users with numbers that are very similar to AT&T's
operator-assisted service, "1-800 CALL ATT."
A caller who misdials when calling the AT&T number to place a collect
call, for example by dialing 1-800-CELL-ATT, is connected to ASC
Telecom operators, which charges rates much higher than AT&T, according to
the lawsuit.
"Consumers who inadvertently dial one of defendants' numbers have been
deceived into using defendants' services, causing AT&T to lose business
which was intended for it," the complaint says.
AT&T is asking the court to compel Sprint, One Call, and ASC to surrender
numbers such as 1-800 CAAL ATT and 1-800 CALT ATT. The suit
also seeks unspecified monetary damages.
AT&T also notes in its complaint that the alleged scheme, which has been
labeled as "fat-finger dialing" by the Federal
Communications Commission, prompted the agency to fine One Call and ASC
millions of dollars last year.
Maybe a group of pudgy telephone users
should sue the FCC for name calling while we're at it.
Why didn't AT&T think of buying these
numbers in the first place? And if someone cannot correctly spell seven
letters, does this entitle AT&T compensation?
Maybe if enough people misdial the number,
AT&T will get rid of those annoying TV commercials.
Source: AP, "AT&T Sues Over 'Fat-Finger
Dialing," March 27, 2003.
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