AT&T

To End Local Service In State.

HARTFORD (AP) — AT&T is hanging up its local telephone service in the state, saying it was unable to operate profitably.

AT&T will transfer its 5,000 state customers to either Connecticut Telephone Co., an independent provider, or other carriers by December at no cost to the customers.

Rust Muirhead, chief executive of Connecticut Telephone, said most of the customers who are transferred from AT&T are likely to see lower costs for local “landline” telephone service, especially those who buy such advanced services as call-waiting, caller ID, and call-forwarding. Some customers may see an increase of as much as 22 cents a month, he said.

Affected AT&T customers, who are scattered throughout the state, may also choose among the other competing providers of local phone service, including SBC SNET and, in some locations, the local cable TV company.

AT&T “was reluctant to discontinue a service that 5,000 people depended on,” company spokesman Ed Bergstraesser said. But the company decided to exit the market after determining that it is unable to make a fair return on its investment in the state, he said.

AT&T’s departure is a setback to efforts by the state Department of Public Utility Control to create a more competitive market for local telephone services in Connecticut.

“We hate to see competitors who have solid experience in the industry leave the market,’’ said Beryl Lyons, a spokeswoman for the agency. But, she added, “this is a business decision on AT&T’s part, and that’s going to happen in a competitive marketplace.”’