American Telephone & Telegraph Co. has cut short its offer for U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia to call home for free. The troops racked up so many calls in one week that Saudi communications officials complained their long-distance lines were being clogged. After just one week, and an estimated 100,000 calls at a cost of $1 million, AT&T on Wednesday notified the military it was scrubbing its complimentary, direct-dial service, spokesman David Bikle said Sunday. AT&T had planned to offer USADirect Service to troops for two weeks. Soldiers are now charged $16.04 for a 10-minute call home. The charge is $18.29 for a 10-minute collect call, said AT&T spokesman Rick Wallerstein. The volume of calls had peaked at 1,500 an hour. ``With 100,000 calls, we gave most people a chance for one call home,'' Wallerstein said. AT&T, based in Basking Ridge, has yet to calculate the exact number of calls made since the service was discontinued, he said. U.S. troops have been deployed in Saudi Arabia since Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait on Aug. 2.
