AT&T said Saturday it had established outgoing telephone service from Kuwait City for the first time since Aug. 7.

However, company spokesman Herb Linnen said he didn't know when service allowing incoming calls would be available.Linnen said a group of AT&T technicians drove into Kuwait City from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Friday and erected a portable satellite ground station overnight.

The first calls were made about noon EST Saturday, 24 hours ahead of schedule, Linnen said. A total of 120 telephones were expected to be in service within 12 hours.

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The phone center is north of the Kuwait City airport and is open to the public. Five of the telephones will be reserved for the media, Linnen said. Those using the telephones may call collect, person-to-person or use an AT&T credit card.

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