1.   Although other industries, such as utilities and railways, want to enter the EU telecoms market, cable operators have a natural advantage, Van Miert said.

2.   And anybody trying to sell into the telecom market is, well, doomed.

3.   As for consumers, Business Week says they are still waiting for the competition Clinton promised, since local telecom markets remain almost complete monopolies controlled by Baby Bells.

4.   Boston Technology has also tapped into the booming international telecom market.

5.   A further factor which could potentially derail the talks is the reluctance of several European Union countries to open their telecoms markets widely enough.

6.   A telecom accord came a step closer to completion today when the U.S. presented a revised offer to further open its telecom market to competition.

7.   He said the EU itself was ready to improve its offer relating to access to the Portuguese telecom market if other negotiators made final minor improvements to their offers.

8.   Meanwhile, countries like Sweden and Denmark, which have already deregulated their telecom markets, have urged the commission to speed up the opening of the markets.

9.   Motta and the government consider the agency necessary for the proper functioning of a competitive telecom market.

10.   Right now, U.S. negotiators want countries to lower barriers in their telecom markets to foreign ownership.