Buyout firms are by no means the only game in town. They will continue to face competition from strategic buyers.

This merger and the others that follow will mean fewer choices - due to reduced competition, higher fares and likely, a serious deterioration in service, I am very skeptical that the merger of these two 'customer service-challenged,' organizations will improve this already dismal situation.

Over time, the competition will become even more intense. There will be a time when the margins are impacted a bit.

I would hope that we'd be able to sign big-time recruits every year to add to the competition level. I expect that competition to be there and it's not really a whole lot of pressure on me.

The available evidence suggests that generally, Qwest has succeeded in opening local telecommunications markets to competition.

The available evidence suggests that generally, Qwest has succeeded in opening local telecommunications markets to competition,