The United States Supreme Court stepped in yesterday in AT&T’s lawsuit, as the Internet service provider demanded the intervention into the dispute. AT&T has been accused by LinkLine Communications Inc. of anti-competitive practices.

The company’s request for the Supreme Court’s intervention, seconded by the Bush administration, came after the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco decided on ruling against AT&T, agreeing to all of the plaintiff’s claims.

The accusations refer to the prices charged by AT&T for its Internet high-speed service, which are considered too high by LinkLine, claiming that they cannot compete against AT&T’s retail offer. "It's one of those cases where the wholesale price is higher than the retail price, which makes competition virtually impossible," said Maxwell Blecher of the law firm Blecher & Collins, which is representing the plaintiffs, according to PCWorld.

On the other hand, AT&T stated its firm belief that the company is under no obligation to discuss its prices with the providers and that without a clear and valid legal claim, the lawsuit should be thrown out immediately.

Before the Court of Appeals in San Francisco, the case was discussed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and after the first briefing set for August, the case will be handled by the Supreme Court around December.

The debates around the access fees have been going on for many years, as the entry in the U.S. telecommunication industry has been attempted by many small players, limited, in their opinion, by the market’s leaders.

AT&T is the largest provider of telephone services, wireless services and Internet access in the United States, with more than 70 million subscribers.