Microsoft Called a Threat in Phone Industry

Microsoft Corp. is positioned to seize control of Internet-based telephone and messaging services in the same way that it monopolizes personal computer operating systems, an official of SBC Communications Inc. testified at a Microsoft antitrust hearing. Larry Pearson, a product design manager for the nation's second-largest telephone company, forecast a new battleground for services that will enable consumers to retrieve voice mail, e-mail and faxes from Internet-enabled telephones, cell phones or handheld organizers.