AT & amp;T to add 22 states to local-service list

NEW YORK (AP) -- AT & amp;T Corp. is broadening its assault on the local telephone market, the second long-distance provider to pounce on a federal order that fuels competition by forcing the local Bells to lease out their residential lines to rivals at attractive rates.
Already the biggest reseller of local service over Bell lines, AT & amp;T said Monday it plans to test or launch the service for consumers in 22 additional states by year-end. The company, which already provides local service to 3 million consumers in 13 states, had planned to enter only nine more states in 2003.
The move comes two weeks after long-distance rival Sprint Corp. began selling local service using Bell lines in parts of 36 states and Washington, D.C.