1.   Amid fierce competition and mounting debt, British Telecommunications on Thursday became the latest stumbling telecom giant to say it would split itself into two smaller companies.

2.   And this American telecoms giant is not an oddball that insists on sticking to a discredited strategy.

3.   -- The media, ranging from newspapers to a host of plucky new Web sites, have spotlighted problems and nudged telecom giants to reform.

4.   But the Mississippi-based telecom giant has hit some bumpy stretches of late and is struggling through a painful time.

5.   Ebbers, a native of Canada who attended Mississippi College in Clinton on a basketball scholarship, built a telecom giant from scores of aggressive acquisitions.

6.   French and Scandinavian telecom giants are also big buyers.

7.   Last year, the San Francisco telecom giant became smaller by spinning off its wireless business, now called AirTouch Communications.

8.   The community also should feel blessed to have been home to business leaders competitive enough to transform a relatively small, unknown telephone company into a national telecom giant.

9.   The once-sleepy local phone company now is making waves to become a full-serve telecom giant.

10.   The telecom giant will cover airfare, hotel and meals and pay for one year of monthly recurring charges associated with its phone network and Worldnet Internet access services.