| Business failures of new market entrants and Internet rate increases |
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New DSL and other providers succumb to excessive price competition. |
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RBOC and others raise DSL rates, etc. |
| Congress deliberates bill letting RBOCs offer long-distance high-speed data service unconditionally |
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Passes House committee, but fate in Senate is uncertain. |
| Government and states talk about, but do not implement, RBOC retail/wholesale separation |
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Senator Hollings and others introduce a bill to split RBOCs into retail and wholesale units. |
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New Jersey and a dozen other states ask state legislators for structural separation of AT&T, etc. However, no states actually decide on structural separation, and Pennsylvania opts for functional separation instead. |
| New FCC chairman Powell (Republican) pushes strongly for deregulation |
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Hints at spurring long-distance competition by easing restrictions on RBOCs. |
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Opposed to structural separation of regional companies. |
Supreme Court currently deliberating Federal court ruling (July 2000) that access charges based
on a virtual model are illegal |
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Oral arguments given in October; decision expected next year. |
| AT&T reportedly in merger talks with RBOCs (BellSouth, etc.) |
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