1.   Evanoff said Federal Communications Commission rules issued recently explicitly require the local phone companies to share their data and said Excell is preparing a petition to force access.

2.   The Canadian mining concern Sherritt International Corp., Mexican phone company Grupo Domos SA, and others could have been targeted had the lawsuits been allowed.

3.   The phone company originating a call bills the customer and then pays the carrier that completes the call, a fee known as the settlement rate.

4.   The phone company originating a call bills the customer, and then pays the carrier that completes the call a settlement fee, which is half the accounting rate.

5.   While some Democrats want to toughen those provisions even more, opponents say the proposal would saddle the local phone companies with million-dollar burdens.

6.   You might get lucky because on occasion, competitors have installed DSL equipment in central offices that the phone company itself has not yet upgraded.

7.   Plus, the phone companies charge for leasing space, line testing, security and air conditioning.

8.   Many local phone companies that lack their own networks and equipment rely on the Bell system to be able to offer competing service.

9.   Ramunno has been waiting so long for the phone company to install a new line and two Internet connections that he has given up and gone wireless.