61.   At first, businesses will be the only ones to have a choice of companies for their local phone service.

62.   At the same time, the high cost of traditional phone services may help advance cell phone technology even more.

63.   Atlanta-based BellSouth, which offers local phone service in nine states in the southeast, seeks to offer customers in South Carolina and Louisiana long-distance service.

64.   Basic phone service is already set very low.

65.   Bay Area cable TV companies also will upgrade their systems to provide phone service as well as upgraded video services.

66.   Bay Area residents will hear a loud pin drop today as Sprint launches its new local phone service to compete with Pacific Bell.

67.   Basketball mega-star Michael Jordan has starred in TV commercials for shoes, drinks, underwear and long-distance phone service.

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

69.   Because NYNEX cannot yet legally offer phone service in New Jersey, the company joined with its rival, MFS Communications, to bid for the contract.

70.   Barr said GTE also might sell part of the MCImetro Inc. unit, which offers local phone service in selected cities around the country, mainly to businesses.