11.  As in recent quarters, long-distance companies will enjoy lower access fees charged by the seven regional Bell operating companies.

12.  As a result of Humble purchase, the domestic operating company known as Exxon U.S.A. is now based in Houston.

13.  At the same time, competition from the Bell operating companies, which sell phone service in local U.S. regions, is intensifying.

14.  Bell Atlantic is currently negotiating a merger with Nynex, the New York-based Bell regional operating company, according to a person familiar with the talks.

15.  BellSouth, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is a former Bell operating company.

16.  Bell Atlantic is the Philadelphia-based regional Bell operating company.

17.  A joint operating company will eventually take over, and Arakis will have a significant participating role.

18.  A key question, Perez said, is whether this joint operating company has an unraveling clause that would permit a break-up.

19.  A merger between Manhattan-based Nynex and Philadelphia-headquartered Bell Atlantic would leave one operating company covering a service area from Maine to West Virginia.

20.  A merger with another regional Bell operating company, SBC Communications, is unlikely, given regulatory difficulties, according to Mitchell.