TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

AT&T; to Raise Rates: American Telephone & Telegraph Co. said it will raise rates Feb. 19 on weekday, international, operator-assisted, calling-card and coin calls. Direct-dialed, state-to-state weekday calls between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. will increase by 1.2%. That’s about 2 cents a month on the average AT&T; consumer’s long-distance bill, the company said. People who use an AT&T; operator to place long-distance calls within the United States will incur a $1.94 service charge, a 6-cent increase over the current fee. The rates for operator-handled, calling-card and coin calls will increase a maximum of 2 cents a minute.