1.   Birch has been successful raising money, even when other telephone competitors were closing their doors because they lacked funding.

2.   France Telecom owns a stake in a third Spanish telephone competitor.

3.   Many telephone competitors and consumer advocates oppose the Missouri application because they believe the local market is still treacherous for competitors.

4.   State regulators have also pushed aggressively to certify new local telephone competitors in Illinois, Michigan, Maryland and elsewhere.

5.   Telephone company competitors Bell Atlantic Corp. and Nynex Corp. said they are in merger talks to take advantage of changing phone regulations.

6.   The combined company will also be a formidable local telephone competitor.