When Telco Pricing Info Dries Up

A small Maryland company's decision this week to stop publishing telecom carrier rates is making a big stir in the industry, as experts say one of the free-market effects of the 1996 Telecommunications Act is finally being felt, nearly a decade after it was passed.

Rockville, Md.-based Center for Communications Management Information this week ceased publishing "DealWatch," a compendium of rates of telecommunications carriers, used by major corporations, and small and medium-size businesses, to shop around for the best-priced telecom deal. By Gene Koprowsk