New Rules on Long-Distance Services: The Federal...

New Rules on Long-Distance Services: The Federal Communications Commission voted 5-0 to approve rules to implement a law designed to crack down on a new breed of companies that provide long-distance telephone service to the traveling public. The Telephone Operator Consumer Services Improvement Act of 1990 deals with so-called alternative operator service companies that handle “dial-O” calls made by travelers. These companies, which sprouted in the wake of the 1984 breakup of American Telephone & Telegraph Co., lease phone lines from long-distance carriers and have been the subject of thousands of complaints about excessively high charges.