1.   And farther down the road is ADSL, a technology that promises similar speeds over existing copper phone lines.

2.   Because the service will initially only handle outgoing calls, customers would have to retain their existing local phone service to receive incoming calls.

3.   A handful of homes, soon to be several hundred, are getting TV signals over existing phone lines.

4.   A triangulation-based system works with existing phones.

5.   Adding digits to existing phone numbers could solve the problem, the agency said, but that could take years and cost billions of dollars.

6.   After all, airlines make money when passengers place expensive calls on existing on-board phones.

7.   But most existing phones can only receive short messages.

8.   Companies building independent local phone networks must negotiate agreements with the existing phone company so that calls can pass freely between their territories.

9.   Existing local phone companies and state utility commissions objected, saying that the FCC had no right to meddle in state telecommunications business.

10.   Existing phone companies have been forced by regulators to offer basic service to low-income consumers at discounted prices, with those costs effectively subsidized by other customers.