41.   But last week, customers filed lawsuits in several states, including New York, accusing the company of selling a service that it could not provide.

42.   But now he must hire middle managers capable of running a fiber-optic network and selling advanced services.

43.   But perhaps most compelling of all, selling internal services can be a cheap way to bolster profits.

44.   But now many districts sell services, such as transportation or management and bookkeeping, to charter schools.

45.   But Telefonica does not have a major presence in the United States and has not made major inroads selling services like prepaid calling cards in Latin America.

46.   But the Bells, which now sell long-distance services in three dozen states, control half of the consumer long-distance market.

47.   But SNET, like the hundreds of other non-Bell local phone carriers, has been allowed to sell long-distance service without undergoing such a rigorous federal review.

48.   But unlike WebMD, consumers will not know they are dealing with Derivion, which sells its service only to businesses.

49.   But what are players, who seek no more than a free market on which to sell their services?

50.   By law they must complete those steps before they can sell long-distance service, something they desperately want to do.