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AT&T Number One Again
But, This Time In Iraq and, By Default
By Gene Retske |
AT&T, once the only choice for long distance in the US, has
once again become a national monopoly, but this time in Iraq. US
military personnel serving in the war torn country find their choices
for calling back home to the US very limited. The national telecommunications
infrastructure in Iraq, after decades of neglect, wars and Coalition
bombing, was almost non-existent when the US took over. AT&T
was asked to provide service to military exchanges there.
Today, it has deployed 1176 payphones in 42 centers in Iraq, where
US service personnel can make calls using AT&T calling cards,
purchased in the exchanges, or bought by friends or family back
home. The centers are connected via satellite to Turkey, and then
connect to the AT&T network in the US. The quality of the calls
is reportedly high, although the rates are steeper than in other
overseas locations.
“AT&T is proud of the work it does for the US Military,”
says Bob Nersesian, media relations director for AT&T. “Particularly
the investments we've made and the hard work it's taken to build
64 calling centers in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan so that soldiers
can stay in touch with their family and friends.” In addition
to the 42 centers in Iraq, there are 22 centers in the other Operation
Enduring Freedom areas of Afghanistan and Kuwait.
AT&T has contributed in other ways.
“In addition, since the onset of hostilities in the Middle
East, we have donated more than $6 million in prepaid phone cards
to our troops,” says Nersesian. “With the support of
the United Service Organizations, Inc. (USO), and other non-profit
organizations, these AT&T phone cards are distributed to our
troops, allowing them to call home from anywhere, including Iraq,
Afghanistan and Kuwait.”
The calls that are permitted using the military's own facilities
are called “Morale Calls,” and are designed to allow
some level of contact, usually on the basis of need. These calls
are carried on the same military network that is used for operational
support. According to the Army website, making a morale call requires
specific authorization, so it is very doubtful that they are granted
in all but the most urgent of situations.
In Europe and other parts of the world, US service personnel have
the choice of buying calling cards on base or using one of the many
local alternative carriers who offer highly competitive rates. But,
in Iraq, devoid of alternative carriers, service personnel have
no alternative to supplement Morale Calls other than to buy AT&T
cards to use on the AT&T payphones in the military exchanges.
Bob Nersesian disagrees that the choices are limited. “There
are a number of ways that military personnel can use phone cards
from other companies, including at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation
Centers (MWRs), and by using Direct Service Numbers - phone lines
set up at military bases for official and non-official use.”
AT&T blocks access to other carriers over their Iraqi network,
taking away the alternatives that military personnel have in other
parts of the world, including those that other Mideast countries,
might have. AT&T charges around 20 cents per minute for calls
back to the US from Iraq, contrasted with the 3-4 cents per minute
from other locations outside Iraq.
Other companies have also tried to offer free calling cards to military
personnel to show their support, but have been frustrated by AT&T's
closed payphones.
"Since last fall, NetworkIP has donated over 10,000 CallMe
Cards to service personnel and their families to make it easier
for them to maintain connections with their loved ones,” says
Pete Pattullo, president & CEO, NetworkIP. “We were sad
to learn that restrictions from AT&T resulted in more hardships
being placed on our troops. We think it is important for all companies
to do all they can to enable communications -- not restrict them.”
While AT&T has invested money in a very risky environment in
order to offer the service, there are questions about the propriety
of restricting access to alternative carriers on the payphones AT&T
provides in the exchanges. They reportedly have 10 technicians deployed
in the region to maintain and operate the system.
“Although payphone service providers operating in the United
States may designate a preferred long distance carrier, including
their own, they must still permit callers the option of choosing
an alternative carrier. AT&T is acting in the role of a payphone
service provider. They're putting in the facility, but they are
blocking access to alternative providers. That would not be permitted
under common carrier regulations applicable in the United States,”
says Jonathan Marashlian, a regulatory attorney with The Helein
Law Group in McLean, Virginia.
Pattullo also urges that AT&T follow the same rules as they
must obey in the US. “In this case, we think it is in the
public's interest that restrictions be lifted to help ease the increasing
burdens on our forces overseas and their families here at home."
In the US, payphone service providers, PSPs, are allowed to charge
a Payphone Compensation Surcharge for these calls. Known as DAC
– Dial Around Compensation – its purpose is to pay the
operator for the use of their payphone instruments and network.
Although DAC has been around since the 1996 Telecommunications Act,
it was rarely collected, or paid. The FCC recently increased DAC
to almost 50 cents per call, and enacted strenuous enforcement procedures
to assure it is paid.
But, in the US, payphone operators are not allowed to block access
to alternative carriers, as AT&T does in Iraq.
“They get paid for the use of their network, regardless of
what long distance network is used to complete the call,”
offers Marashlian.
Ray Horak, a well known telecommunications consultant, author and
editor of Newton's Telecom Dictionary, has a son in the Marine Corps,
who has already served one tour of duty in Iraq and is on the way
back. “I can see both sides of it, being an ex-AT&T guy,”
says Horak. “God bless AT&T for being there and building
a network, but shame on them for taking advantage of our people
in uniform.”
Horak also points out that AT&T has the exclusive right to provide
long distance services in barracks like Camp Pendleton, where his
son was stationed. He says that service personnel there have no
alternative to AT&T, and the 19 cent a minute domestic calling
rate that is offered is higher than AT&T's advertised domestic
rate.
“Some things just aren't right,” adds Horak.
Editors Note: In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted
that Gene Retske, the author of this article, worked at AT&T/Bell
System from 1973 to 1992. He left of his own accord, and amicably.
Gene also has a son in the US Army, who is headed to Iraq in the
near future. It was when Gene received three $5 calling cards to
give his son to use to call home his interest in this subject began.
With the gift was a note indicating that the cards might not work
because AT&T had started blocking toll free calls from Iraq
to non-AT&T service providers. His investigation of these facts
that resulted in the story. All relevant parties were contacted
- Department of Defense, AT&T, NetworkIP, AAEFS, and USO. With
the exception of the USO, all promptly responded and were given
an opportunity to provide their perspective. We welcome comments
from any and all interested parties. Gene can be contacted at gretske@prepaid-press.com,
or 866.203.2334, extension 502.
How Much Could Iraq Mean to AT&T?
AT&T insists that its involvement in Iraq is motivated by a
sense of patriotism, but has never disclosed how much revenue it
realizes as a result of its operations there. It does not break
down the source of its revenues, even those derived from government
contracts, so we put a pencil to paper to estimate how much money
could be involved.
There are approximately 150,000 US military and civilian personnel
deployed on military bases or involved in military operations in
Iraq. If we assume that each one averages 2 calls of 15 minutes
each back to friends and family in the US per week -
150,000 people x 2 calls x 15 minutes each = 4,500,000 minutes per
week
4,500,000 minutes / week x 52 weeks / year = 234,000,000 minutes
per year
AT&T charges 19¢ per minute for cards bought at the military
exchange, or 21¢ per minute for cards bought stateside and
sent to personnel in Iraq, so if we use an average of 20¢ per
minute, we have 234,000,000 minutes x $.20 = $46,800,000 per year.
Considering that these are domestic minutes, traveling over existing
AT&T facilities, so the margins should be very high; it would
be hard to imagine costs that are more than a few cents per minute.
Remember that these calls are paid for by service personnel out
of their own pockets, not part of a Defense Department budget.
Nice piece of business by supporting your country, huh?
How can you help?
If you are as concerned about the burden this places on US military
personnel in a war zone as we are, we suggest that you do what we
intend to do – send a copy of this article to your US Senators
and Representatives. Maybe if they hear from enough of us, we can
get some relief for our underpaid service people.
Click here for Iraq/AT&T blog
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