The Year in Preview

Telecommunications: Federal regulators will make important decisions on proposed mergers between AT&T; and Tele-Communications Inc., between Bell Atlantic and GTE and between SBC Communications and Ameritech. The outcomes of those deals will shape the future of the industry. The year could see one of the first Baby Bell phone companies--perhaps Bell Atlantic--join the long-distance market. Prospects for solid competition in residential local phone markets remain dim.