The Miami Herald Business Briefs Column.(Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News)

Jun. 24--AT&T (T) UNVEILS NEW RATE: AT&T Corp. announced new long-distance rates Friday for its basic plans after scrapping a rate increase that met with opposition from regulators and consumer groups. The new plans, effective July 1, eliminate the $3 monthly minimum usage charge, but raise most per-minute rates by 13 percent to 40 percent depending on when the call is made. Last month, the Federal Communications Commission announced it would cut by $3.2 billion the "access fees" local phone companies charge long-distance carriers to connect calls. In one new plan, customers pay a flat 16 cents a minute. In another, customers can chose either Saturday or Sunday as the low-cost day, paying 10 cents a minute, while paying 18 cents the rest of the weekend, 22.5 cents off-peak on weekdays and 29.5 …