AT&T last week accused WorldCom of diverting US telephone calls to Canada in order to avoid having to pay connection fees to rival networks, while hiding the origin of the call. But according to a WorldCom statement made yesterday, an internal review has found no evidence to support the claim. The Federal Communications Commission is carrying out its own investigation.
The practice is known as 'least cost routing', and means that the company uses the most efficient network available to route calls.
So, for example, if some networks are less busy at certain times, then these will be used in preference to busy ones.
It is when the origin of the rerouted call is hidden that the practice can be unlawful. And the allegation was that when WorldCom transmitted calls through intermediaries it stripped software codes to disguise the origin of the calls.
WorldCom said in its statement yesterday:
"We fully expect that AT&T will escalate its efforts to attempt to obstruct the company's reorganization efforts, and urge that any such tactics be viewed in the highly-charged competitive environment evident in this case."
WorldCom was brought down by an $11 billion US accounting scandal which caused it to file for bankruptcy protection last year. It is now doing business under the less-tarnished brand name MCI, which will become its official name when it emerges from bankruptcy.