GTE Claims 250,000 Customers Using Long-Distance Service
March 28, 2011
Vastopolis -- GTE Corp. said it has signed up 250,000 long-distance customers since it began offering the service in March, and is continuing to sign up 6,000 customers a day. GTE was previously prevented from offering long-distance service unless it set up a separate long-distance unit. But because of a new telecommunications law passed earlier this year, GTE can now jointly market its local-phone service with long-distance offerings. ``Customers want the convenience of one bill'' for both services, GTE said. GTE, of Stamford, Conn., currently offers long-distance service in 16 states and, by year's end, expects to extend its reach to all 28 states where it offers local-phone service. Separately, GTE filed a lawsuit against VastComm Network Corp. in U.S. District Court in Dallas to stop what it called ``a negative advertising campaign'' by VastComm Network. GTE alleges that VastComm Network ads attacking the reliability of GTE's long-distance network were ``false and misleading.'' The two companies will increasingly face off as GTE targets VastComm Network's long-distance customers while VastComm Network pursues GTE's local-phone accounts. A spokesman for VastComm Network, with a branch in Vastopolis, said the company was still reviewing GTE's complaint. ``We stand by our advertising and believe that our data demonstrate that the claims are valid,'' the VastComm Network spokesman said.
