TGIP sued AT&T last year, accusing the company of violating a pair of patents it owned for technologies that allow consumers to "recharge" calling cards by purchasing extra time at retail outlets. The court could triple the award at its own discretion because the jury found that AT&T willfully infringed upon TGIP's patents for the card-activation system. The company also is seeking awards for attorneys' fees and future AT&T royalties.

In a telephone interview, Douglas Cawley, an attorney for TGIP, said it is rare for a judge to exercise full discretion to enhance an award in such cases. But he said the fact that the jury found AT&T willfully infringed upon the patents may boost the sum.

U.S. District Judge Ron Clark will make a final determination on the AT&T award later this fall. An AT&T spokesman said via e-mail that the company is prepared to challenge the verdict.

"We are disappointed by this result, which is contrary to the law and evidence in this case," he said. "We will seek to have it corrected by the trial court or on appeal."

Verizon Communications, a co-defendant in the case, reached a confidential settlement with TGIP on the second day of the trial earlier this year.

A small Iowa-based cooperative, meanwhile, did not fare as well this week in a legal dispute against Qwest Communications International.

The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday decided that the state's public utilities board can enjoin the East Buchanan Telephone Cooperative, which serves communities in the eastern part of the state, from blocking wireless signals from outside carriers, including Qwest.

Iowa regulators decided in 2004 that the cooperative should not be allowed to block cellular calls coming to its customers through Qwest. The parties were engaged in a dispute over connection fees that Qwest did not believe it should have to pay.

The cooperative challenged the utility board's decision in a state court, which upheld the regulatory board's ruling. The cooperative then appealed to the state's highest court.

The court agreed that the utilities board has the power to order the cooperative to permanently refrain from blocking the disputed cellular traffic from Qwest.