21.   That deal fell apart amid objections from both European and U.S. antitrust officials about how much power the combined company would have in long-distance communications markets.

22.   The company makes products for the fiber-optics communications market.

23.   The billions of dollars of new capital flowed exactly where the contours of the law and of the communications market itself directed them.

24.   The company is better known as a leading chip maker and a leader in equipment for the wireless communications market.

25.   The company supplies twisted-pair cables used in data transmission, coaxial cable and fiber optic cable to the communications market.

26.   The current IBM plan for the Internet-era communications market seems sound, analysts say.

27.   The companies that sell to the data networking and communications markets also will fall short of expectations.

28.   The FCC has taken an aggressive role in establishing the rules of the road for a deregulated communications market.

29.   The Intel Corp. on Wednesday announced its own chip entry in the communications market, and it is in head-to-head competition with the IBM product.

30.   The talks come at a time of unprecedented change in the US communications market.